A Total Eclipse of the Heart
by latetolove
Summary: Sequel to Scent of a Woman. S & R's love is challenged when complications to her recovery, and Steph's interminable luck with stalkers, create havoc. Rated M/M for – More Manoso. romance/drama/crime/angst/humor/hurt/comfort - you name it, it's here.
1. Chapter 1

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

LateToLove

I would like to acknowledge thank my three wonderful betas.

**FinanceBabe**, for her honest opinions, and her willingness to be a sounding board.

**Sonomom**, for her attention to detail, her helpful reviews, her ideas and her support and openness in a long distance friendship.

**Majesta Moniet**, for her mad grammar skills, and her gentle pushes to get me writing and posting.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart is a sequel to Scent of a Woman. If you have not read SOAW, you may want to do that first. Much of the content of this story is based on information learned, and relationships developed in that story.

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

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Prologue:

The man focused intently on the chessboard. His slightly graying hair was perfectly styled and held in place with a touch of gel. His fine Italian silk shirt was exquisitely tailored to show off his broad shoulders, trim waist, and long strong arms. Despite his advancing age, he was a handsome, healthy specimen. A glass of scotch sat just beyond the reach of his well-manicured fingers, which were slowly tapping a rhythm of contemplation on the table. The next move was his and he was taking his time. It had to be a good one. He didn't like to lose.

There was a courtesy knock on the door and then it was opened without waiting for a response. The man that entered bore a striking resemblance to his father. His clothes were more casual, but obviously well fitting and just as expensive. The strong, silent confidence his father exuded was absent and in its place a certain amount of anxious cockiness and immaturity emanated from his younger, but towering, athletic frame. He crossed the room and poured himself a drink. He threw it down his throat, grimaced at the burn, and poured another. He knew better than to speak. He waited for his father's attention.

A slow, satisfying grin formed on the older man's face as he moved his game piece.

"Check."

There was a groan from the young woman across the table as she realized his play had left her with only two moves, both of which would secure his victory.

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly from that of intense concentration to one of a more lighthearted, playful nature. "Don't worry my dear, you're skills are improving nicely. It took me more than ten moves to defeat you this time."

"You don't play fair." She pouted. "You should let me win every once in a while."

"You'll have to get better if you want to beat me. You know I never _let _anyone win." He looked up at his son. "Well?"

The son shot a wary look to the beautiful, young woman who had her back to him. The older man acknowledged the message.

"My dear, why don't you go paint your nails. Or better yet, go upstairs and put on that lovely little dress you bought earlier today." He ran his fingers down the side of her face and then lower as they teased her cleavage. "I'll be up later for a private fashion show."

The young woman stood, gave him a sexy smile, and seductively kissed him on the lips. She turned, winked at the son, and sauntered out of the room.

When the door closed, the son downed his second drink and put the glass on the table. "She's out of the hospital."

"Good. Where is she now?"

"Still in Philly. At the house on Juniper Court."

"Does she have her memory back yet?"

"Not that I know of. My source said she was still 'confused' but was undergoing therapy." He glanced at his father. "What do you want me to do?"

"Is Manoso still with her?"

"Yes. A couple of others as well. Her security is as tight as it was in the hospital."

"Don't do anything. Keep an eye on her. Don't lose her. I want her healthy and well before we move in."

"But…"

"Patience son, revenge is no fun when the victim doesn't know why it's happening." He picked up his scotch and drank it quickly. "Manoso can't protect her all the time. I can be a very patient man. Stephanie Plum will get better…and then…." He set his empty glass on the table. "No one interferes with my family. We take care of our own."

(from Scent of a Woman; Chapter 27)

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Chapter 1

Stephanie always thought of herself as someone who usually considered the glass half full. It wasn't always easy, but that was what denial was for. At the age of 10, when she jumped off the roof of the garage in an attempt to fly like Wonder Woman, the landing hurt like hell and she broke her arm, but the 2.5-second flight was everything she had dreamed it would be. When she caught her husband boinking Joyce Barnhardt, on her new dining room table fifteen minutes into her marriage with Dickie Orr, sure she was angry, and her self-esteem took a major hit, but she had never really liked that table (or the husband) to begin with. Even when her cars blew up, burned up, or otherwise exited the planet in some equally extraordinary event, they were never the cars of her dreams (Okay, Ranger's Porsche was a big exception). But on the upside, said incidents usually resulted in a Ranger appearance. A Ranger encounter, no matter how brief or how humiliating the circumstances, was always worth it.

Granted, more recently, looking at the glass being half full, when she had been knocked unconscious, undergone brain surgery…twice, and lost most of her memories, took more effort than usual. The one shining point of light in the entire situation had been the opportunity to fall in love with Carlos Manoso…all over again.

Brief glimpses of recollection, and revealing dreams had recovered happy, and sometimes painful, memories of the intricate dance they had executed the first time around. From what she could remember, it had been a remarkable journey that, after years of relationship foreplay, culminated in a romance that progressed at lightning speed when they had finally given in to the veracity of their feelings for each other.

This second time, this gift, was similarly wonderful but didn't require the lengthy, angst-ridden tango, and didn't include the complication or interference of competition, poaching or the rules of the 'Burg'. It was pure. A fairy tale-like union that bloomed from a connection they felt in their souls.

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"Babe?"

"Hmmmm?"

"As wonderful as the last several days have been, you have to rejoin the world eventually."

"Why, Carlos? Everything is perfect just the way it is right now." Stephanie rolled onto her back and stared into his eyes.

"I've been selfish. You have fans."

"Fans? You make me sound like a reclusive rock star."

"Okay, not exactly fans. You have family and friends. They love you too."

She giggled as she coyishly ran a finger down the length of his chest. "Not like you do."

"Definitely not like I do." He tenderly caressed her cheek, leaned over, and hungrily engaged her in a brief bout of oral bliss. He pulled away slightly and continued the conversation. "But they love you, and they want to see you."

"Is it wrong?" she said with a heavy sigh.

"Is what wrong?"

"To just want to feel this good for a little while longer? No confusion. No answering questions. No fighting memories. No guilty pain. Just you and me, Carlos, one more day…please?" A single tear ran a zigzag course down her cheek. Ranger stopped it with his thumb.

"It's not wrong, Babe. One more day." He was spoiling her again. He gave in to all of her demands. If he were a parent, his indulgent behavior would be creating the world's most ill-mannered, annoying child. But Stephanie had suffered so much, and he was just thankful that she was with him and healing. Truth be told, he wasn't ready to share her with anyone else yet either.

"Thank you, Carlos." She responded with a culpable glance. "I know I'm putting off the inevitable, and it's irresponsible of me to…."

"Sh, sh, sh, querida." He cut her off with a finger gently placed to her lips. "You have every right to take the time you need. Isn't that what Jack told you?"

"Yes."

"Has he been wrong about anything so far?"

"No."

"Then, one more day is what we'll take." He reached over to the bedside table and grabbed his watch. "It's eleven thirty. Jack is going to be here at two. Why don't we take a shower, eat some lunch, and spend some time looking at Hector's book? After your appointment with Jack, we can go to a movie or shop."

Stephanie gave him a smile that beamed her approval of the plan. "Really, I can leave the house? You think it's safe? I know you've been worried."

"Yes. Hal and Hector are on duty this afternoon. They'll provide security."

"It would be wonderful to get out. What about dinner? Can we go to a restaurant, too?"

Ranger thought for a moment. "I'll tell you what. Why don't we ask Lester and Megan to meet us for dinner somewhere?"

"Let's ask Bobby and Adria, too!" Stephanie added enthusiastically. "I really like her a lot. We had so much fun last Saturday on Halloween."

"Okay. I'll talk to Bobby and Lester. If they are both with us, dinner out should be safe enough." He gently tugged on one of her curls. Ranger was not surprised that Stephanie was willing to include his men and their dates in their evening out. Lester was her only link to reality in the hospital and had remained steadfastly at her side. Bobby had been providing non-stop care for Stephanie since her release and had seen her through several episodes of the severe headaches from which she still suffered. Stephanie had recalled much of her time with Bobby prior to the accident and felt comfortable in his presence. Megan and Adria were new acquaintances, and were no threat to her fear of lost memories. And since they were also residents of Philadelphia, it sweetened the deal for Lester and Bobby to spend the majority of their time here with Steph. Both women had been to the house a number of times as a result of their blooming relationships with his two men, and had developed easy friendships with her as well.

Stephanie was almost giddy with anticipation for the rest of the day. "I promise I'll talk to Jack this afternoon about starting the visits tomorrow! Thank you, thank you, thank you." She kissed him several times, jumped out of the bed, and pulled on his hand. "Come on let's take a shower!"

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Hector's reintroduction into Stephanie's life had not gone as smoothly as Bobby's or Ranger's.

_Two days after her return to the safe house, Hector came into the kitchen through the garage, having been assured by Lester that Steph was upstairs resting. Unbeknownst to Lester, who was entertaining Megan in the living room, a thirsty Steph had come down the back staircase, that entered the kitchen directly, in order to give the new couple their privacy. She was digging through the refrigerator for a Coke when the door from the garage opened. As she turned and had no immediate recognition of the man standing before her, Stephanie was gripped by fear. She dropped the bottle and swiftly reached for a knife on the kitchen counter. Hector backed off quickly and tried to take a non-threatening stance, but Stephanie remained untrusting and called out to Lester who appeared in a flash after having already heard the commotion in the kitchen._

_Lester took one look at the situation and quickly realized what was going on._

"_Whoa, Beautiful, it's okay! It's just Hector." He slowly put his hands toward her, requesting control of the knife._

_Stephanie held her defensive stance a moment longer while she processed the name, the face, and the uniform. Lester had told her that Hector would be coming today. He and Hal were going to be the final additions to her personal 'in house' security team. Jack had suggested that she re-meet them one at a time. "Hector?" She asked him directly._

"_Si, Chica." He pointed to the St. Joan of Arc medal she was wearing around her neck. "From me."_

_Stephanie reached her casted hand up to her neck and grasped the medal. "This is from you?"_

"_Si."_

_Stephanie looked down at the knife and quickly handed it to Lester. "I'm sorry." She apologized to Hector. "I…I…don't recognize you. I'm so embarrassed. I love this necklace. It means a lot to me." She gave him a shy smile. "Thank you." _

"_It is okay, Bonita. I did not worry. You are not so good with a knife anyway." He teasingly smirked, and Stephanie felt relieved at his easy acceptance of her embarrassing mistake._

_As Stephanie spoke further with Hector, flashes of memory crossed her vision. She was getting used to this. At first she found it quite distracting and had a difficult time deciphering the images and maintaining conversations at the same time. This happened mostly with her exchanges between Ranger, Bobby, and Lester and they all had become quite familiar with and very patient of her broken sentences and abrupt changes of direction during their conversations. She quickly learned, however, to multi-task, and discovered a way to process the new information and add it to the current discussion simultaneously._

_A few days after the 'kitchen incident', Hector showed up at the house with a gift for Stephanie. The box was wrapped in shiny gold foil paper and was topped with a large dark blue velvet bow. Inside was a book. Really it was a photo album, but what it contained simply overwhelmed Stephanie beyond words. Entitled: __The Real World of Stephanie Plum; __she opened it to the first page. There were numerous pictures of her and Ranger. In fact, the first several pages were photos of the two of them. Almost none of them were posed shots; they appeared to be more candid as if she and Ranger had been unaware of the cameras presence. The quality was slightly grainy as well. A couple of the pictures made Stephanie blush as they showed them in some compromising positions, and she quickly turned through the pages only to discover faces and names of dozens of people, some she recognized, most she didn't. She looked up at Hector, still unable to speak from the emotion caught in her throat._

_He casually stated in his heavy Hispanic accent, "I do not want you to be frightened by your friends anymore." _

_She kissed him on the cheek and hugged him tightly, the open book clumsily wedged between their torsos, tears streaming down her face. As she stepped back from the embrace, the pages flipped to the final photo. Stephanie took a finger and gently outlined the furry face of her forgotten friend Rex. She looked up at Hector and gave him a panicked look of realization._

"_Oh my god. Is he alright?"_

"_He is fine, mi pequeña, I bring him to you, okay?" This garnered him another moist hug and a happy nod against his chest._

_In the days that followed, Stephanie spent hours examining the book, with Rex now keeping a watchful eye from the kitchen counter. Sometimes she studied it alone, and sometimes with Carlos or one of the Merry Men staying in the house. They would answer questions or give detailed information on events surrounding a particular photo. It was obvious that Hector had put a great deal of time and effort into the book. There were several current photos of almost everyone she assumed she had ever met. He must have run all over town with his camera, requesting of people to pose for her book. She recalled enough of her relationship with Hector to know that while professionally he was a fierce fighter, who, with a single look, could make even the toughest thug wet his pants in fear, personally he was a very private and shy person. She was warmed and honored that he had been willing to step outside his comfort zone for her. Being able to look at the photos, and take her time remembering details, gave Stephanie peace of mind and lessened the dread she harbored toward so many impending reunions. She seriously considered petitioning the Pope to nominate Hector for sainthood._

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At two o'clock Jack arrived, and he and Stephanie took up their usual spot in the living room. It was comfortable, and the casual atmosphere helped Stephanie feel more relaxed and open to conversation.

"How has your day been so far?" This was always the first question Jack asked.

"It's been a good day. No headaches."

"That's good. The last one was two days ago?" Steph nodded in confirmation. "They're becoming less frequent. That means you're healing. You have a follow-up appointment with Curtis tomorrow don't you?"

"Yes, and after that appointment I won't need to go back for a month."

Stephanie looked a little uncomfortable with this information and Jack called her on it. "Isn't that good news?"

"Yeesss, I suppose." She didn't sound very convincing.

"What are you still concerned about?" He leaned forward and placed a caring hand on her arm. "Are you experiencing other symptoms? Because if you are then…"

"No! It's nothing like that. It's just…just…. God, I'm such a coward."

"We've talked about that, Stephanie. It's not allowed. Denigrating yourself isn't helpful to your recovery. You only use it to avoid confronting your true fears."

"Okay, okay…geesh!" She relented. "I'm afraid! Okay? Is that better?"

"Yes, much." He smiled. "What are you afraid of?"

"Going home."

"Isn't this home? Aren't you comfortable here? It's a beautiful home. You have everything you need. You even have your little furry…rat, Max over there."

"Rex! And he's not a rat! He's a hamster!"

"I stand corrected." Jack was well aware of the living situation and the hamster's name; he found it helpful to get her riled. When Stephanie got angry and stood up for herself it kept her from focusing on the negative and she was much more likely to express her true feelings.

"You know very well that this is not my home! This is…is…a stopover. An escape. A hideout. Now that I won't have to be here so frequently for my doctor appointments, it doesn't make sense to stay here. I've inconvenienced Ranger and his men long enough."

"Did Ranger tell you he was being inconvenienced?"

"No. He would never say that. He's been very supportive. But he's running himself ragged between here and Trenton. He spoils me, and I let him, but he's got a business to run. I need to get back on my feet and take some control over my life."

"So you feel out of control?"

"No, not out of control like...losing my mind or dancing on the table naked…out of control. I just don't have control of my life. I have no direction. I'm not producing. I'm just taking."

"From Ranger?"

"From Ranger, Lester, Bobby. All of them."

"And that bothers you?"

"Hell yes, it bothers me!"

"Why?"

"Because, I can't do that. It's not me!" Stephanie was getting irritated so she stood up and started pacing. "I can't live like that. I _know_ me and I..." She froze.

Jack's faced opened into a huge grin.

"I…know…me." She whispered in realization.

"What do you know about yourself, Stephanie?" He prodded her in an encouraging tone.

Distracted by her thoughts, she almost didn't hear his question. "Hmm?...Oh...I can't sit around like this. I have to work. I have to take care of myself." Her words of self-revelation were surprising even to her own ears.

"What else?"

"I have an apartment. It's a crappy apartment, but it's mine. I pay for it."

"Why is that so important to you?"

Stephanie thought about that for a moment, and then confessed, "Because when I depend on me…I can't be disappointed by anyone letting me down." A flash of memories whirled through her mind. Details from her marriage to Dickie were among them.

Jack nodded. "Stephanie, we'll get back to your trust issues later, but for right now, do you see what you've just done?"

She smiled. "Yes. I've been working so hard on trying to remember everyone else; I hadn't spent anytime trying to remember _me_. Remembering who _I _am."

"For the last several days you've been defining yourself through the people you know and remember now. And to some extent that's okay and helpful. But people are_ who_ they are, because of the _sum_ of their life experiences. Good, bad, happy, sad, pleasant, painful, beautiful and ugly. Our encounters with people who are still part of our life _and_ those who are not, all play a significant role in cultivating our personality, our fears, our strengths etcetera. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"You're saying that I need to give some thought to aspects of my life not represented in Hector's book."

"Yes."

"How do I do that?"

"Your memories will continue to return and fill in on a daily basis. With each person you reconnect with, more of your past will resurface. Not only will you learn about the people in your life, you will learn more about yourself as well. You haven't lost your basic personality traits. They're still there. It's just that you have been isolated here, focusing on recovery and redeveloping your relationship with Carlos. That's been very important, and he and his men are an incredible support system for you. They're safe. But you're ready for more now."

"So it's time to go back to Trenton."

"It's time to go back to Trenton."

"Swell." She sighed and plopped back down into her chair.

"So which is it now; you _need_ to go back to Trenton, or you're _afraid_ to go back to Trenton?"

"Both." She sighed again.

The wide smile returned to Jack's face. "That's my girl. Let's work on that."

Stephanie and Jack continued their discussion for the next forty-five minutes or so. When they were about to wrap it up for the day, Stephanie placed a hand on Jack's arm.

"Jack, why don't you join us for dinner tonight? We're actually going out for the first time. Some of the guys will be there. It'll be fun!"

"Stephanie, you've been really great by inviting me over here for dinner almost every night this past week. But believe it or not, you are not responsible for my social calendar. I am perfectly capable of finding ways to entertain myself."

She looked at him skeptically. "Jack, I don't think pay-per-view and room service count as quality entertainment."

"I happen to have a date." Jack commented while he was busy packing up his notes and putting on his coat.

"A date?" Stephanie responded buoyantly. "With who?"

Jack just grinned and gave her a wink.

"Jack?" Stephanie pursued him to the door. "Jack! With who?"

Jack came to an abrupt stop and turned around. "If you think about it, you probably already know. You have one of the most perceptive minds I've ever encountered. It's actually rather scary. Not much gets past you when it comes to reading people. Really, Stephanie, before you can trust anyone else completely, you have to start trusting yourself first. Why don't you begin with trusting your gut instinct on this one?"

Stephanie paused for just a second and her mouth slowly stretched into a satisfied 'Cheshire cat' grin. "I knew it!" She accused. "I had a feeling about you two."

He nodded and turned to leave.

"Jack?" She called after him, still smiling, and he looked back at her. "Have a great time."

"That's the plan."

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	2. Chapter 2

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

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Chapter 2

Stephanie may have been well on the road to recovery, but she still tired easily. After her session with Jack she took a brief nap before she and Carlos headed out for their 'date'. As badly as she wanted to shop, Stephanie conceded that the physical demands of shopping and then an evening with friends might be a bit too much for her stamina, and they chose to go to a movie instead.

Although he would have gone along with either scenario, Ranger was secretly relieved at her final choice. She was easier to protect in a quiet movie theater than walking around in a crowded mall. There had been no new intelligence, since the initial reports from his men, that someone was _interested_ in his babe around Trenton, but he wasn't convinced the danger didn't still exist. Each of his men had made it their personal mission to scour their resources for information, but nothing further had turned up. Even Connie's connections with 'the families' revealed nothing working in the grapevine concerning Stephanie. Surveillance on the house had been maintained 24 hours a day. They ran the plates on every vehicle that made a pass. They interviewed and followed up on the validity of every repairman, delivery man or meter reader that entered within a one block radius of the safe house. Food and supplies were always picked up and brought in by the men, never delivered.

The most nerve-racking event had been getting through Halloween night. Ranger knew that this was Stephanie's favorite holiday, and didn't want to disappoint her by locking down the house in darkness to avoid the chaotic invasion, and constant traffic, of families with costumed children. After hours of discussion and planning, the final result was jokingly referred to as 'Operation Trick-or-Treat'. Essentially hiding in plain sight, Ranger, Bobby, Lester, Hector and Hal had dressed in army fatigues. They had even set up a camouflage tent on the front lawn and had parked a couple of jeeps in the grass to make it look like a military camp. They had all carried firmly holstered, real weapons but placed plastic play weapons and walkie-talkies around the camp so that kids could interact safely with their Halloween display. Stephanie, Megan and Adria had dressed as USO entertainers to complete the illusion, and handed out candy from "the camp". The men took turns rotating between entertaining the children as soldiers, and keeping surveillance on the house. Ranger was constantly amazed at the lengths to which Stephanie could inspire his men to go.

Ranger wasn't sure whether to be thankful or worried at the lack of suspicious activity. But Stephanie needed to get out. He could tell she was getting restless and, although having her all to himself and securely cosseted in the safe house was comforting and easy, he knew that luxury was going to have to end. Soon they would, once again, be fighting a battle of wills when it came to her safety and protection. They needed to talk.

Ranger gently curled his hand around the long fingers that protruded from the end of Stephanie's cast, but didn't settle into his usual driving 'zone'.

"This isn't the car I pictured myself being in with you."

"I've had this car for a while. What car do you remember?"

"I'm not sure, but it was dark, sleek and sporty. Expensive and fast." She looked down and ran a finger along the leather. "I was wearing these boots."

"You must be remembering the Lamborghini in Miami. I still have the Porsche back in Trenton too. But this car suits our purpose better tonight."

"What purpose is that?"

"Blending in. You don't blend in with a Porsche. Everyone notices a Porsche."

"So we're going for boring?"

One side of Ranger's mouth tipped up slightly in amusement. "You are never boring, Babe. We need to keep a low profile. Just a couple out on a date, meeting friends for dinner."

"You didn't tell me where we were going to dinner." It was dark out, but traffic was heavy, and the lights of passing cars illuminated their faces.

Ranger maneuvered the black Mercedes sedan onto the interstate and increased his speed to merge with the inbound stream of cars. "Fogo de Chao."

"For go the what?"

Ranger chuckled. "Not 'For go'…'Fogo'. Fogo de Chao. That's the name of the restaurant."

"Sounds French."

"It's actually a churrascaria…a Brazilian steak house. The name, Fogo de Chao, means 'ground fire' in Portuguese." You'll love it. I hear it's an all you can eat, endless selection of every kind of grilled and barbecued meat imaginable, and it has a massive buffet of salads and traditional Brazilian side dishes...and dessert." He gave her a knowing glance.

"Sounds perfect. I'm starving. Lunch was a long time ago."

"Babe, you had a jumbo-sized tub of popcorn, and two kinds of candy at the movie!"

"That was just a snack. I'm hungry for real food."

When they entered the restaurant Stephanie was surprised by all the activity. It was a party-like atmosphere with servers dressed in gaucho clothing, hustling skewers of meat from one table to the next. Ranger spoke with the hostess and she immediately led them to a table where they were greeted by Megan, Lester, Bobby and Adria, who were already seated.

Stephanie and Ranger had just returned from their first trip to the buffet line when Hal showed up with a shy greeting to everyone at the table.

"Hal!" Stephanie's warm, enthusiastic smile made him blush. "I didn't know you were coming too. Here, sit next to me." She patted the empty chair at the table.

"I'm just checking in. I'm…on…duty tonight." He looked a little nervous about how he worded his assignment.

"You mean you're scheduled to be my designated babysitter tonight?" Stephanie sweetly responded, with her take on the truth.

Hal guiltily nodded.

"Well, since I can almost guarantee that there are, already, at least six firearms and three knives at this table, not counting the silverware, having you stand out there with your two guns…"

"Three." He interjected.

"Okay, having you stand out there with your _three _guns won't improve my safety enough to make it worth your while. Besides you always work with Hector and I know he's not here because he's on a date tonight, and…."

Lester, Ranger and Bobby looked surprised and Lester cut her off. "Beautiful? Hector has a date?"

"Yeah." Stephanie replied weakly. All of the sudden she wasn't so sure she should be sharing. He never asked her to keep the information private. They all knew about Hector's sexual orientation but she wasn't sure any of the guys, or Ranger for that matter, wanted to hear details or share it with their dates.

"With who?" Bobby's question wasn't presented with any incredulity, just curiosity.

"Um…I think it's someone he met at the hospital." She tried to stay vague. Looking to back herself out of that conversation, she refocused on Hal. "Hal, come on sit down!"

Hal looked at Ranger for a decision. Ranger nodded his head at the empty chair next to Stephanie, and he took a seat.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you guys act like the secret service guarding the president. It's embarrassing!"

Ranger leaned into her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He stealthily slipped his other hand under her dress and between her thighs, flirting dangerously close to ground zero, and whispered into her ear, "You are very important to me, and later tonight, I plan to show you just how far I will go to protect _and_ serve." He then casually removed his hand, picked up his water, and took a drink.

The blush that bloomed on her face didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the table. The way Stephanie saw it, she could either allow the embarrassment to continue, and become the butt of a couple jokes by Lester, or she could throw the focus back into Ranger's lap (so to speak). She decided she was up for the challenge. She turned into him and discreetly moved _her_ hand under the table. She started at his knee, and teasingly walked her fingers up the inside of his thigh. As Ranger drank, she returned the intimate gesture and murmured into his ear, "Maybe next time we can double with Hector and his date…Jack!"

It worked. Ranger nearly choked as he skillfully contained the spray of water coming out of his mouth and back into his glass. He hastily put the glass on the table and grabbed a napkin to dry his face. He looked at Stephanie with an expression of total shock. He opened his mouth to speak, but words escaped him.

Stephanie grabbed her own glass and took a sip of water, completely pleased with the results of her efforts both above the table and below it.

"Wow, Beautiful, I've never seen Ranger rendered speechless before. Whatever you said must have been something…interesting! Care to share?"

Stephanie looked at Ranger, who was still trying to process the information and then back at Lester with a sly grin on her face. "No, I don't think so, Lester. It was…what you might call…a_ private _joke."

"I'll bet." Lester snickered in response and returned to his meal.

Stephanie looked around the table. She was pleased to see how happy and relaxed Lester appeared to be with Megan. He was very attentive and was constantly touching her; nothing improper, just the reassuring, physical contact of newfound attraction. From what she had been able to recall of her own knowledge of Lester, this kind of closeness and respect for a woman was novel for him. Megan was more reserved with her romantic expressions. It seemed to Stephanie that she was holding back, as if she didn't quite trust the reality of the relationship. This was something Stephanie could relate to. Despite Jack's valiant attempts to fortify her self-image, she still struggled with identifying her own worth to Carlos. She switched her gaze to Bobby. He was completely smitten with Adria. They were a beautiful couple. They enjoyed a comfort level with each other that reflected the long history of a friendship that had blossomed into something deeper and more intimate. The sexual energy that flowed between them was almost tangible. Stephanie was so spellbound by the mental images she was creating of them together, that she didn't realize that she was, once again, very wantonly stroking Ranger's leg, until his own hand covered hers. He lifted it to his lips and kissed it.

"Later, Babe."

His slight grin and strained, husky whisper brought her back to her senses. She felt her face slightly flush and proactively started a conversation to dissuade her lustful imagery from causing further humiliation. "So, Adria, did you finish that article for the magazine you've been working for?"

Adria was busy having a silent conversation with Bobby's eyes, and was caught off guard at the question being thrown her way. "Uh..,oh…yeah. I turned it over to the editor yesterday. She'll probably send it back with some directions for rewrites, but basically it's done."

Bobby, obviously pleased at the attention being shown his date, beamed with pride as he continued for her. "Actually, Adria is interested in starting on her novel."

"Novel?" Megan spoke up for the first time. "That sounds exciting. What's it going to be about?"

"I have a couple of ideas floating around in my head. I've actually written some short stories in the past that may have potential for expansion, but recently I've come up with a new idea that I think I might follow up on." Adria looked a little tentative about continuing. "If you don't mind, Stephanie, I'd like to talk to you about it sometime."

Stephanie looked surprised. "Me?" She choked out. "Why on earth would you want to talk to me? I don't have any experience with writing." She got a panicked look on her face as if she might not be remembering something important about her past, and questioned Ranger. "Do I?"

"Not that I'm aware of Babe."

"It's not your writing experience I'm interested in, Steph, it's your life experience."

"My life experience?" Stephanie responded with confusion.

"Well yes. My new story idea was inspired by your recent set of circumstances. You have to admit that everything you've been through, just in the last two weeks, is amazing and remarkable.

Stephanie looked uncomfortable, and a little bit insulted. "It didn't feel amazing most of the time."

Adria jumped right in with an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry, Steph, I didn't mean to diminish the struggle you've been experiencing. I know this has been a difficult time for you." She looked around the table. "All of you. It's just that I've had the luxury of observing your situation from a fairly emotionally removed perspective, and it's been absolutely fascinating. And the more I get to know you, the more interesting you become."

Lester let out a loud, very unbecoming, snort. "You don't know the half of it, Adria. Beautiful here has had some of the damndest things happen to her. Trouble follows her around, just waiting to jump in her path. Hell, I don't think even Hollywood could make that stuff up. She makes the papers almost every other week back in Trenton."

Stephanie groaned in mortification.

"I would never reveal your identity or private life to anyone." Adria tried to reassure her. "If I write your story, it would only be with your permission and all the names and places would be changed. You would have final approval on everything." She smiled at Bobby, hoping she hadn't overstepped the bounds of their friendship. He nodded and put his arm around her. "There's no hurry, Steph. Just give it some thought and let me know. Okay?"

"Sure, Adria, I'll think about it." The idea may have been intriguing, but Stephanie couldn't quite grasp the concept that her life would be worth publishing in a book. Ranger gripped her hand, and a hint of supressed amusement shadowed his face. She looked at his expression and called him on it. "Don't think you're safe from all of this, buster. If she writes about me as the klutzy, hapless bounty hunter turned danger-proned undercover agent, you would be written as the very dark and mysterious, Cuban sex god and superhero who is constantly required to rescue her."

Ranger shot a look at Adria for confirmation.

"Oh yeah." She slowly said nodding her head. "This story would have it all – crime, drama, intrigue, humor, suspense…and sex. Just imagine the enormous potential it has; a beautiful, daring protagonist, hot, muscle-bound, gun toting security men, dangerous circumstances, crazy villains…the possibilities are endless. One book may not be enough. There could be a whole series of stories based on Stephanie's life." Adria's smile grew wider as infinite scenarios filled her head.

"We'll talk." And with that simple statement, Ranger's fork went back to his meal, and his hand back to Stephanie's thigh.

Ranger couldn't get Stephanie out of the restaurant fast enough when they finished dinner. He threw five hundred dollars on the table to cover everyone's bill, helped Stephanie with her coat, and hustled them out the door. The smoldering foreplay under the table had him burning for release. His legendary control was slipping. He privately applauded his decision to bring the Mercedes this evening as he guided her to the car. When they reached the parked vehicle he key-fobbed the locks and opened the back door.

"Get in, now!" His forceful demand caught Stephanie off guard.

"Carlos…what?…Why the back?" She balked slightly at his control.

"Just get in." His voice was calm but firm. There was almost a begging quality to his request.

She paused, and stared directly into his eyes. They were serious and dark, and she immediately understood. "Alright." She slipped into the car and scooted over toward the middle of the back seat.

Ranger followed her into the car, pulled the door shut and hit the locks. He leaned over the front seat, put the keys in the ignition, and started the engine. Instantly a soulful jazz rolled from the speakers, and within several seconds warmth was pouring from the vents. He removed the gun holstered at the small of his back and laid it on the rear dash.

"Carlos, what's this all about? Did you see something? Is someone following us?"

"Turn around."

"What?"

"Turn around." He gently guided her rigid shoulders so that her back was to him. He slid off her coat and laid it on the seat. "Don't move." He lifted her hair and pressed his lips to her neck. "Dios, you smell incredible." He moaned and ran his tongue to her ear where he nibbled and bit at the tender lobe. He continued his passionate tour of her neck and shoulders, carefully avoiding her, still healing, injury. Stephanie was wearing a cashmere sweater dress with a zipper that ran the entire span of its back, from the scoop neckline to the hem. She immediately relaxed into the moment with a moan that vibrated against his lips. Ranger skimmed his hands down the length of her arms and returned to her shoulders, leaving a trail of heat everywhere his fingers touched. He grasped the zipper tab and slowly drew it downward, exposing her creamy, soft skin…inch by magnificent inch. Ranger had been waiting for this moment since this afternoon, when he had helped her put the dress on. He placed open, wet kisses along the path of separating fabric. When the zipper reached her waist he stopped and returned to address her black lace bra. Once released, he slid his hands inside the dress and around the front to stroke her breasts.

"God, Carlos that feels so…we're in the mmm…middle of ahhh…a parking lot."

"Tinted windows Babe." He gathered her into his chest and pushed the dress and straps down and off her arms, carefully negotiating the material around the cast, which was still protecting her left wrist. He continued to ravish her neck and shoulders with his mouth as his hands first tantalized both nipples and then slowly traveled down her torso to her, now useless, wet panties.

"Su piel es como la crema. Tan suave, tan hermosa." (Your skin is like cream. So soft, so beautiful.)

Stephanie's words were becoming breathless and soft. "Isn't Hal out there?" She moaned as he reached a particularly sensitive spot between her legs. "He could be…watching."

"Are you suggesting a threesome?" he teased in a husky voice.

"God no!" She was quick to make that clear. "It's just that…"

Ranger chuckled at her response. "Hal's a big boy, Babe. We won't emotionally scar him. Besides he can get his own woman. You're mine, Amada."

His provocative touches continued to wear down her arguments. Stephanie's persistent objections were waning in influence, and she didn't really care, but the 'good Catholic girl' in her gave it one last shot. "The…naaa…noise…dear god, don't stop…people will…hear…us." She never failed to be amazed at how quickly he could turn her to a quivering puddle of selfish need.

Ranger seductively murmured his final counter into her skin, "Mercedes," _he kissed her neck,_ "is known for its" _he kissed her shoulder _"outstanding," _he kissed her back _"noise cancelling qualities." _He nibbled her ear. _"No more talk."

Ranger's reassuring response was moot. Stephanie couldn't have stopped if the Pope himself were standing outside the car offering cake. She rose to her knees on the seat in wanton surrender, and Ranger swiveled her body to face the back window. He finished unzipping the dress so that it, and her undergarments, dropped entirely into a pile beneath her. He positioned his body in line behind hers, seamlessly shrugging off his jacket, removing his own shirt, dropping his gun belt, and loosening his pants all without abandoning his erotic fondling.

Ranger was intense, focused and hard. With her arms and hands firmly splayed on the back dash, he commandingly entered her from behind. The intimate, invasive contact made Stephanie gasp in pleasure, and she lifted her face sharply toward the rear windshield. The combination of outside cold, inside heat, and moisture from their ragged, hot breaths had completely steamed up every window.

His powerful hold on her body was solid and unyielding. She was his prisoner, his servant to do with as he pleased. It was primal…and she loved it.

He whispered into her ear. "Usted tiene que pagar por su comportamiento seductor en la cena. Usted me ha conducido hasta el borde con su cuerpo." (You have to pay for your seductive behavior at dinner. You've driven me to the edge with your body.)

As the tightness and anticipation heightened inside her, Stephanie arched back onto his shoulder. He aggressively seized her neck with his mouth and increased the intensity of the rhythm he had created with both his groin and hands. The stimulation was magnified by the complete authority he had of her every move. His mouth bridled her head. His hands commanded the flux of her hips. The weight of his chest against her spine subjugated her body's response to his desires. Even deep within her core, it was _his_ charge that dictated her powerful release, and then his own, in resounding vocalizations that even the posh Mercedes technology couldn't muffle.

When Stephanie had recovered her senses, and her short winded gasps for air had lengthened into full deep breaths, she turned toward him with an unprecedented glow of satisfaction. "What the hell was that?"

He answered with a slight smile on his lips. "Cuban sex god, Babe."

Ranger sat back on the seat and drew her into his lap as she smirked at his response. He grabbed her coat, which had been relegated to floor during their very active merger, and used it as a blanket to cover as much of her exposed skin as possible. "That was amazing." She purred as she snuggled into his, now tender, embrace.

"You're amazing, Babe."

They lay there with their fingers entwined, savoring the moment. Occasional kisses were the only communication for several minutes.

Finally Stephanie spoke. "It works for you, you know."

"What works for me?"

"The whole Cuban sex god, caveman thing."

Ranger almost smiled.

Stephanie looked straight ahead to the opposite side of the car. "I remember Joe."

Ranger stiffened slightly, and waited for her to continue. She didn't. Ranger never thought of himself as insecure. He analyzed situations, made rapid decisions, and very rarely questioned his own abilities to follow through and complete the task. He was confident and self-assured about his business finesse, his leadership skills, his military expertise, and his sexual prowess. But Stephanie Plum's relationship with Joe Morelli had always given him pause. After their trip to Miami, he was convinced that he and Steph had a strong, solid relationship, and that Morelli would firmly remain as part of her history. Recently, however, there was a concern that was insidiously eating away at Ranger's, once unshakeable, confidence. With all that Stephanie had just been through, would she remember Joe the same way? Would she remember _all _the details of that past relationship or would her recall be selective; thrusting their newly realized commitment into muddied waters once again.

The serene quiet they had been enjoying in the warmth of the car, suddenly became chillingly shrill. Stephanie felt a definite shift in the atmosphere, which now felt full of unspoken thoughts and trepidation. Concerned, she peered over her shoulder to look at Ranger, and frowned when she saw the torment on his face. Stephanie then understood how those three, small words she uttered had been interpreted. She carefully rolled over and lay against him, chest to chest. She raised her fingers to his face and tried to smooth out the lines of tension that were deeply set on his brow.

"It's not what you're thinking. I remember it all. At least I think I do." She kissed him sweetly on the lips. "What I wanted to say was…I could never have accepted that kind of attention from Joe. I never would have allowed him to dominate me. It would have terrified me to give myself like that to him. He could be a very selfish lover at times. I had sex with Joe but I don't think we ever made love." Stephanie cradled Ranger's face with both her hands to ensure eye contact. "It's different with you. You are…master of your universe. It's who you are, and when you make love to me the way you just did, it feels right…natural. I don't feel used. I'm never a conquest to you for the sake of your ego. You always make me feel like the most important person in the world. _Always_."

Relieved, Ranger lifted his hand and tucked an errant curl behind her ear. "You are, Babe." He then ran his fingers gently down the side of her face and across her lips. "You understand that don't you?"

"My heart does…and most of the time my head does. It's not that I don't trust those feelings from you. It's just that sometimes I don't understand why I deserve them." Stephanie looked down, reflecting in her body language the unworthiness she feared.

Ranger gently lifted her chin to meet her eyes. "These are your old fears. I can see that I failed to fully explain _all_ the developments we experienced on our trip to Miami. I was so focused on repeating the physical highlights of the trip that I neglected to remind you of the breakthrough we made in our hearts. I'll tell you again what I said to you there. "Tú eres mi amor, mi aliento y mi luz." He translated. "You are my love, my breath and my light. When I'm with you, my world is right. It has balance and meaning. Babe, you make me feel worthy. I have never loved anyone the way I love you."

"I'm not perfect." She whispered

"You're perfect for me."

"Sometimes I can be very difficult."

"I know."

Stephanie realized she was once again breaking the rules by maligning her own character, and, like Jack, Ranger wasn't having any of it. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Carlos, I love you."

"I love you, too." Ranger pulled her close for a lingering kiss. Stephanie shivered. "Are you cold, Babe?"

"No, just very happy." She took a deep breath and slowly released it. "I'm ready now."

"Ready for what?"

"Jack says I need to go back to Trenton. He says it's time to reacquaint myself with more of my world. I'm scared, but I'm ready."

"I'll be with you."

"I know. That's one of the reasons why I know I can do this."

"When do you want to go?"

"Tomorrow, after my doctor's appointment with Curtis. Is that alright?"

"I'll make all the arrangements. Have you thought about who you want to see first?"

She looked at him as if expecting his disapproval. "I know I might be asking for trouble, but I need to see my parents…and Grandma Mazur."

"Babe, I spent some time with your parents while you were in the hospital. I think your mother will surprise you."

"How?"

"Your injuries made her re-evaluate her relationship with you. I think she has some regrets. Just give her a chance, okay?"

She smiled. The thought of Ranger and her mother having a heart-to-heart amused and confounded her. "I can do that."

Ranger nodded. "Babe, we haven't talked about it, and it's your decision, but I really want you to stay with me on Haywood when we return. I don't think you should go back to your apartment."

"Why?"

"Well, for one reason; although it's been quiet on the security side of things, I'm not convinced it's safe yet. For another; I don't want to be that far from you. I want to go to sleep with you, wake up with you, make love to you." He pulled her close for another provocative kiss that verified his words, and brought them both to an aroused state again.

Stephanie broke away to continue the conversation. She put her hands on his chest and pushed back to create some distance. "I want to keep my apartment. I really need to reclaim some of my independence. I have to start feeling useful again. I have to earn some money."

Her words and her physical separation from him, caused Ranger's heart to clench. He was sure this would be the first of many battles they would fight to maintain the delcate balance of their relationship.

"I may be ready to go back to Trenton, but I am not ready to jump feet first into my old life. After my time with Jack, I realize there's so much I need to think about and there are things I need to change. Some of that I'm on my own for, but I need to heal and...I need you. I couldn't stand being away from you either." Her look became apologetic. "I'll try not to be too clingy."

He sunk back into her in relief. "Babe, you can stay with me for as long as you like. We'll work together on the independence. And you're not the clingy type."

"Good to know."

"As for earning money, you..."

"I know what you're going to say, Carlos, and I don't want to depend on you for money. I need to take care of myself. I can't keep living off..."

Ranger put a finger against her lips. "Babe, everything I have is yours, but that's not what I was going to say. I was trying to tell you that you have plenty of your own money."

"I do?"

"Yes." Ranger sat up and gently set her on the seat. He pulled himself up and leaned over the front seat to open the glove compartment. Stephanie simpered in delight at the magnificent view he gave her of his backside. When he returned to the back seat, he once again settled her into his lap. "Tank gave me these yesterday, when I went into the office in Trenton." He handed her three pieces of paper.

Stephanie took them and looked curiously at their content. "Carlos, these are check stubs...in my name...for..." She quickly calculated the total in her head. "...$250,000 dollars! Carlos you can't just give me money like this and expect me to accept..."

"You earned this."

"I earned it?" She questioned suspiciously.

He took the check stubs and listed them off to her. "This one is your share of the bounty on Giordano. This one is for your work on the distraction and capture of Marcus Sandor, in Miami. It also includes the reward money RangeMan offered for his capture. The guys at the Miami office wanted you to have it. You did almost everything single-handedly down there, Babe; from the research to the planning to the capture." He said this with a proud smile on his face. "The rest of us just came along for the ride. And this one is your regular salary for working at RangeMan since the first day of the Giordano case. We had your bank account information so these checks have already been deposited directly into your account"

Stephanie just shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know what to say. This is so much. I've never had this much money before."

"Babe, you can afford to take your time. You need to get well. This money won't last forever, but I can help you invest some of it and you can live off the rest, you'll have plenty to give yourself the time you need to heal."

"Carlos, it's not just the money. I need to feel useful. I need to work."

"I know, querida. You will I promise. Just take it slowly. Please."

"Okay." She stretched up to meet his lips. "Thank you." She whispered.

Conversation now completed, the kiss became foreplay as they eagerly engaged in another round of fantastic car sex. It was different from the first time. Face to face, they touched and whispered adoring and encouraging phrases to each other. They were in no hurry. Their climax was hushed.

The drive back to the safe house was relatively conversation free. They held hands and occasionally glanced at each other with smiles of gratification and contentment. As they pulled into the garage and Ranger prepared to exit, Stephanie laid a hand on his arm. He turned to her as she looked longingly toward the back seat, and exhaled a deep sigh.

"Carlos."

"Hmmm."

"We so have to spend more time in this car."

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	3. Chapter 3

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

Another big thank you to my betas - Sonomom, Majesta Moniet, and Financebabe. Their help is invaluable and inspiring.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 3

Ranger and Stephanie weren't the only ones to return to the safe house. Bobby and Adria were in the kitchen making popcorn and pouring drinks, preparing to settle down in front of the TV. Steph knew that Adria would most likely still be there in the morning. When Stephanie was released from the hospital and Bobby and Lester moved in, they flipped for the posh guest bedroom. Bobby won. Lester had been relegated to the fire-fighter themed child's room, with the twin bed, designed for her imaginary son Carlos. Lester would be home…much later. Even though both Lester and Bobby were on duty, Ranger was rather lenient with the structure of her in-house security detail when he was with her. Bobby invited them to join him and Adria in the living room, but Stephanie was exhausted from the day's _activities_, so she and Ranger gladly retreated to the master bedroom upstairs.

Stephanie was restless. Tonight she couldn't get away from the incessant dreams that plagued her sleep. She looked at the clock for what seemed like the hundredth time. 3:15 am. She didn't want to wake Ranger so she carefully slipped out of the relaxed cuddle that had become their accustomed form of coupling during their nights together. The house had a bit of a chill and she was wearing…well…next to nothing. Ranger's body heat was so intense that she had taken to wearing very lightweight, barely-there clothing to bed; if she wore anything at all. She got no complaints from Ranger, but with at least two other men in the house, at all times, she kept a robe close by. She slipped into the robe and headed downstairs.

Stephanie's appetite had been slow to return since her surgery, but she found herself constantly thirsty. Jack assured her it was because of her medications. The guys were great about keeping all sorts of drinks in the refrigerator for her and midnight trips to the kitchen had become standard operating procedure. She didn't bother turning on a light. There was just enough of a glow coming from one of the outside security lights to make it unnecessary. She pulled out a cold bottle of Coke, took a seat at the kitchen table and had only been sitting a few minutes when she heard a noise from the garage. Assuming it to be Lester returning from his late night tryst with Megan, she walked over to the door leading to the garage and opened it. She was fully prepared to give him a hard time about being out so late.

"Hey stud! Must have been a really good night. It's after…" She stopped mid sentence when she realized that Lester was not there. "Lester?" She called out. No response. She flipped on the light and there was a flurry of activity that reminded Stephanie of cockroaches running for cover.

Now here's the thing. Smart Stephanie would close the door and high-tail it back to the bedroom and let Ranger handle it. But Smart Stephanie had taken a backseat to the insistence of deceptively fearless Stupid Stephanie, who thought she could handle this herself. Quickly scanning the area for a weapon, she spied…nothing. There was absolutely nothing near the garage door to use as a weapon so she slowly backed into the kitchen. When she hit the counter she turned to open a drawer that she knew would contain a knife. Just as she reached to grasp a long-handled bread slicer, a hand came around her mouth and another around her arms and waist, effectively blocking her attempts to protect herself. She was paralyzed with fear and the hold around her mouth was so tight that she could no longer breathe. The arms hauled her around to face the room. Standing before her was a boy. He couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen years old. He was white and had a mop of light colored hair that looked like it could use a comb. His clothes weren't shabby, but they were loose fitting and dark; kind of a gangster look. There were several gold chains around his neck.

"Don't make any noise." He ordered, waving a knife in front of her in what he intended to be, she assumed, a threatening gesture. But the act looked awkward, unnatural.

Stephanie nodded in submission, and the grip on her mouth was released slightly. She could breathe again. She couldn't see the hoodlum still holding her captive, but he felt the need to add his own attempt at intimidation. "You make a sound, bitch, and we'll hurt you!" Again, the voice sounded young, contrived and rehearsed. Stephanie had the impression that these were little boys trying to play a man's game. He pushed her over to the table and forced her to sit. His clumsy handling put pressure on her casted wrist, and she winced in pain.

She now had a good view of Jackass Number Two. The boy was also white and had a face that was pockmarked from severe acne. His hair was dark and cut extremely short and his ears protruded like wings. He wore clothing and jewelry similar in style to Jackass Number One. They both had knives. "What the hell do you want?" She barked out.

"Money." Jackass Number Two spoke up. "We've seen the cars come and go from this place. Not one of them's worth less than forty grand. This neighborhood is full of money. Tonight you're the lucky donor to our favorite charity." He grinned at his own witty remark.

"Where's your purse?" Jackass Number One was nervous and impatient.

"If it's money you want, then you don't want my purse. I haven't got any money in there." She really didn't. She hadn't needed to have money. Until tonight she hadn't left the house since she'd returned from the hospital. She needed to keep them talking. Ranger would come looking for her anytime now. Right?

"Bullshit. Old ladies like you got lots of money." Jackass Number Two challenged.

"Old lady. OLD LADY? Listen, you little pissant…" Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Maybe it was the caffeine. Maybe it was the days on end of sitting around the house doing nothing but reconstructing her life and finding out that she is commonly joked about as being a walking disaster and a magnet for danger. Maybe it was just the fact that the little bastard called her _old_ and her Jersey Girl pride and attitude had been driven to the edge. Whatever it was…Stephanie simply snapped. One minute she was sitting at the table and the next her left foot was connecting with Jackass Number Two's 'boys'. He dropped like a ragdoll to the floor, holding on for dear life to the family jewels and moaning in agony. Jackass Number One, knife forgotten, grabbed his own crotch in sympathy as he watched his friend go down. Stephanie used his momentary distraction as an opportunity to run him down. She tackled him to the floor punching and slapping at him until a pair of strong arms encircled her body and lifted her up. She continued to kick and scream profanities at the kid as she was pulled away.

When she tired, and focused her wild eyes on the entire scene, she realized that the lights were now on, Bobby had his gun closely trained on one boy, and Lester on the other. Ranger had her by the waist and was murmuring something Spanish into her ear. She sunk back into his chest and further scrutinized the situation. Lester was the only one wearing a shirt. Ranger was wearing just his pants from their earlier evening out and Bobby was clad only in boxer shorts. For a brief moment, the only noises being made were Stephanie's deep, ragged breathing and the painful whimpers of Jackass Number Two.

"Drop the knife." Bobby aggressively pressed the barrel of the gun against the boy's temple in encouragement.

The knife immediately dropped to the floor. "Jesus Christ." The boy exclaimed, taking in the sight of three large, muscled men holding weapons. "Who the hell are you people?"

"I'd say you picked the wrong house," was Lester's smirking reply as he picked up the knife that had been dropped earlier by his debilitated prisoner. Both he and Bobby lifted their respective delinquents and forcibly guided them toward the kitchen table. As they passed by, Stephanie took the opportunity to push her weight against Rangers chest and kick Jackass Number Two in the leg, again.

"Hey," he yelled as he tried to dodge the assault, "you keep that bitch away from me. She's crazy, man."

Ranger, still holding Stephanie tightly around the waist, carried her into the living room and sat with her on the couch. Concern was clearly dominating his emotions. "Did they hurt you?"

She rubbed at her cast as Ranger's question forced her to refocus on herself. "Um…I don't know…my wrist hurts…that's all."

Stephanie seemed a little out of it so Ranger started with her face and ran his hands over her entire body to assure himself there were no other injuries. When he found none, he returned to her face and soothingly caressed it. "What happened, Babe?"

"I came down for a drink. I was so thirsty." Ranger nodded for her to continue. "I heard a noise in the garage and thought it was Lester coming in late. I wanted to tease him about it so I opened the door and…he wasn't there. I saw some movement so I backed into the kitchen to get a knife and one of them grabbed me. I'm…I'm…I'm sorry, Carlos," she stuttered out.

"Babe."

"No!" Stephanie adamantly replied. "I should have run away. I should have come to get you. I didn't think. I just reacted. It was stupid."

"We'll talk about this later. I need to go back in there. Do you want to stay out here?"

She adamantly shook her head. He stood them both up, put a protective arm around her waist and together they went back into the kitchen.

Ranger stood in front of the boys with his arms crossed and his face set in one of his most threatening, bad ass looks. He held this position for a couple of minutes, not saying a word. He just stared them down. It was working. The boys were beginning to sweat and Jackass Number Two's knee was bouncing nervously. Jackass Number One was looking a little green.

"Who are you?" Ranger's 'don't fuck with me' voice broke the silence and made them both jump. But they didn't answer. "How did you get past the security system?" Again, no answer. Ranger had quickly assessed the boys, and had come to the same conclusion as Stephanie. They were gang banger wannabes. They had no hardened edge to their manner; they had, at best, a pretentious swagger, a lot of false bravado, and a couple of cheap knives. They wouldn't be too difficult to break. He gave Lester and Bobby an almost imperceptible nod, which they both immediately interpreted. They'd done this before. Many times.

Stephanie leaned against the kitchen counter, a safe distance away, and observed the masters at work. Ranger put one foot on the chair, between the legs of the boy he perceived to be the weaker of the two; Jackass Number One. He slowly leaned forward and held up an open palm toward Lester. Lester placed a knife into the outstretched hand.

"How attached are you to this ear?" Ranger's hardened expression never wavered as he rubbed the blade of the knife against the boy's lobe. Ranger could see the panic setting in; shaky, shallow breaths, sweat across the brow, but the boy didn't budge.

"Alright, let's ask the medic." Ranger never looked away from the boy's face as he positioned the knife at the point where the ear met the scalp. "Bobby, will he live?"

Bobby took a second to contemplate the answer. "Well, he should. I mean there will be a lot of blood. The head _is _very vascular. If you remove the ear completely and we don't treat it right away…that would be…bad."

Ranger continued toying with him. "Maybe he'd prefer to lose something a little less…obvious." He dropped the point of the knife to the kid's crotch. "Running around with a missing ear could seriously damage his tough guy image. This...," he dragged the knife along the zipper teeth, "he could hide. At least from everyone but his girlfriend."

"Very messy." Bobby shook his head in disagreement. "Besides, you know how women talk. It wouldn't be long before everyone knew about the missing…dick."

Lester jumped on the intimidation bandwagon. "I disagree. There aren't any really good nicknames for a guy with a missing ear, but a missing dick! Let's see…you could be known as…'Dickless Donny' or 'Bonerless Bob'. Oh wait…this one's my favorite…'Johnny Rocketless'! Yeah, Boss," he nodded in decision, "definitely cut the johnson."

Jackass Number One was practically shaking out of his chair. He was ready to spill, but Jackass Number Two wasn't finished putting up the fight. "He won't talk." He gave his partner in crime a hard look. "You can't touch us. You'd go to jail, man."

"You think?" Ranger replied.

"Fuck, man. You put your knife to a kid, and they'll put your ass in jail so fast, you won't have time to kiss your momma over there goodbye." He nodded in Stephanie's direction as he spoke. Stephanie rolled her eyes at the obvious dig to her age, once again.

Ranger shifted his menacing physical presence over to Jackass Number Two. He leaned in close to his ear. "You have to have a body...and witnesses to be arrested for that." The kid looked slightly shaken. "Who knows that you're here?" The kid swallowed hard. "Thought so." Ranger stepped backed and addressed them both. "Your faces will be printed on every milk carton in the country."

Jackass Number Two rousted his foolish cockiness one last time. "You're bullshittin' us, man."

Ranger got right into his face, eye to eye. "Do I _look_ like someone who bullshits?"

Jackass Number One had heard enough. "My name is Darin Grey. That's Ethan Parks." He said, nodding toward his friend. "We got a key and the alarm codes from this dude, Andy Garmon." The boy couldn't blurt out the information fast enough.

"Garmon?" Ranger looked surprised. "You mean the kid next door?"

"Yeah, he was braggin' on about how his dad looks after this place and how he can get in anytime he wants and use it…you know…with girls."

"And?" Ranger prodded him to continue.

"And we tricked him into showing us where the key and codes were kept…and we borrowed them."

Ranger pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed. "Grant? Ranger. I'm next door. You better get over here now. Use the back door to the garage. It's open."

Grant Garmon was a tall, burly man. His booming, no nonsense voice reminded Stephanie of a stereotypical drill sergeant. For almost an hour he and Ranger discussed the fate of the two hoodlums. In the end it was decided to let Grant handle their punishment, and his son's. He knew the parents of the two boys, and Ranger didn't want the publicity an arrest would bring. Grant would tell the parents about the break-in but not the incident with Stephanie or with Ranger and his men. The boys agreed to the terms, and Grant Garmon escorted them from the house.

Bobby and Lester had long returned to their beds, and Ranger and Stephanie were now alone.

Stephanie had made herself comfortable on the couch. Ranger sat down too, and pulled her into his lap.

"How are you doing, Babe?"

"I'm okay." She optimistically blurted out.

Ranger didn't believe that for a minute. He raised her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. "One more time, with feeling."

"I'm really okay." She said emphatically.

"What about your wrist." He tenderly lifted the injured hand and kissed her finger tips.

"Bobby looked at it. He couldn't tell much with the cast, but he said he'd have them x-ray it tomorrow after my appointment with Curtis."

Ranger nodded. "Is that all?"

Stephanie looked puzzled.

"Babe, two guys break into the safe house. You beat the shit out of one and damn near sexually incapacitate the other, and besides having a sore wrist, you think you're okay?"

Stephanie squirmed a little at the interrogation. "Well, they were just kids. It didn't seem to me that they had to balls to follow through on their threats."

"Threats?"

"Yeah, you know…the usual. - 'Don't make a sound and give us your money or we'll hurt you' - kind of threat." She did her best to imitate their voices.

Ranger ran his hand through his hair at the realization of the danger she had faced. "What in hell possessed you to jump them?"

Stephanie became indignant and defensive. "The little shit insulted me!"

"He_ insulted_ you?" Ranger's voice held a tone of incredulity.

"Yeah, he called me old! He called me an old lady! I was furious and I just hauled off and kicked him." Ranger's expression deepened in dismay as Stephanie's verbal rampage continued. "Then, I couldn't just stand there waiting for the other guy to react, so I jumped him while he was distracted. He called me your momma! I'm not old...and they wanted me to give them money! Waving those damn knives around like magic wands…I was so angry and…" She paused at the look on Ranger's face. "Don't look at me like that!"

Stephanie pushed herself off his lap and headed to the kitchen. Ranger was right behind her. She opened the refrigerator and grabbed another Coke. Ranger took it out of her hand, put it back and picked up a bottle of water.

"No more caffeine." He handed her the bottle.

"I'm fine!"

"You're not, Babe. You're wound tighter than a drum. What's going on?"

Stephanie opened the bottle, took a drink and headed up the stairs. She waited until they had reached the bedroom and closed the door before she answered. "I'm disappointed," she sighed and sunk down on the bed, "in myself."

"Why are you disappointed?" He pulled his gun and phone out of his pants and placed them on the bedside table.

"I went after those kids in a blind rage. I had no self-control. It was stupid."

"Babe, listen, you were surprised and angry. You reacted to that."

"But it was the wrong reaction! I don't have the skills for that kind of reaction. Jersey Girl grit and attitude are fine for beating up a cheating, scumbag boyfriend, but these were armed robbers, Carlos. Granted, they were stupid amateurs, but I could be better at this. I SHOULD be better at this."

"I've offered to have the guys train you before. The offer still stands."

"I'm not interested in the whole physical, running eight miles at the crack of dawn, weight machine workout, sweaty, drop dead from exhaustion, kind of training; at least not yet. But I would like to know some more about hand-to-hand combat tactics and defensive maneuvers. Can I start with that?"

Ranger sat down next to her and pulled her into his warm arms with a smile on his face. "Sure, Babe. We can start with that. I'll work it out with the guys. They'll be no shortage of volunteers." He nuzzled into her neck. "But as for the rest of the physical training..." his husky voice vibrated against her skin, triggering all kinds of reactions between her legs. "Do you remember what you saw on Oprah? We don't have to leave the bed at the crack of dawn to get eight miles in."

Stephanie smiled as she instantly recalled that particular conversation and the activities that preceded it. "It was seven miles and it would take twelve times." She teasingly reminded him.

He deftly untied the knot in her robe. "We've already consummated four of those twelve today. I'm up for the challenge."

"I can see that." She smirked and pulled him down onto the bed.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Everything had gone pretty well at her appointment with Curtis. He had been pleased at Stephanie's continued progress, and the decreased frequency of the headaches. Her next stop had been x-ray. Bobby had made arrangements with the orthopedist that treated her wrist in the hospital to see her on short notice. They had some time to kill before that appointment so Ranger and Bobby, who had brought their laptops, set up a small office in the cafeteria and busied themselves with work while Stephanie got something to eat for a late lunch. As she sat at the table, bored to tears and eating marginally tasteful food, she saw Megan come in. She quickly hopped up from her chair and flagged her down.

"Steph, hi!" They hugged each other and took a seat at another table. "Lester said you would be here today. Oh my god, he told me about last night! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It was just some dumb kids."

"Are you sure? You look a little tired."

Stephanie blushed. "That's Carlos' fault."

Megan giggled and blushed as well. "I know what you mean. Lester's insatiable. I've never had so much sex in my life. Do you think it's like that with all of those men? I mean, Adria looks pretty happy most of the time."

"Well, I don't have any personal experience with any of them but Ranger, but I'd be willing to bet that it is. I can't decide whether it's the prime physical condition they all keep their bodies in or if it's the guns they carry that boosts their testosterone levels. With Lester and Carlos, though, I'm sure the Latino bloodline has something to do with it too." She teased.

"Maybe it's a combination of all three. Whatever it is, they need to bottle it and sell it. It beats the hell out of Viagra!"

The two women broke out into uncontrollable laughter, garnering curious looks from Ranger and Bobby.

"Oh god, it feels so good to laugh. You and Adria have been such good friends to me while we were here. I hope we can still spend time together once I'm back in Trenton."

Megan was shocked. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah. Didn't Lester tell you?" The disparaged expression on Megan's face told her _- "no, he hadn't"-_ the idiot. "I'm sorry Megan; don't be upset, I'm sure he didn't even think of it as an issue. Men can be stupid like that. Really, Trenton's not that far away."

"Sure." She didn't sound convinced. "I'm sure that's it." She tried to hide her disappointment.

"Megan, Lester really likes you! He's crazy about you. As long as I've known Lester, he's never gone out with anyone more than once or twice."

"Maybe you just don't remember." She argued weakly.

"I remember!" Stephanie argued back. "Lester has always been a player, you know that. He's different with you. I watched you two at dinner last night. Believe me; a few extra miles between Trenton and Philly are not going to stop this relationship."

"Steph, I really like Lester. I mean, I _really_ like him! He's become very important to me. I just can't afford to lose him."

"You won't."

"Two years ago I had a boyfriend. Actually, we were engaged to be married." She smiled at the memory. "I loved him so much. We had everything planned out. We had our eye on a house, we both had good jobs. We wanted children. It was perfect." Her eyes became sad.

Stephanie reached across the table and took Megan's hand. "What happened?"

"He called one Friday afternoon and told me he was taking off from work early. We were expecting a big snow storm and he didn't want to get caught in a traffic mess. So I told him to stop at the store and pick up a few staples and some videos so we could lock ourselves in all weekend." She dug through her uniform's pocket for a tissue. "He got the groceries and the movies, but at the last minute he must have decided to pick up some wine, because he stopped at this little, family owned, wine market down the street from my apartment." She chuckled at another recollection. "He knew I loved their House Chardonnay. Anyway, he walked in on two guys robbing the store." She dabbed her eyes with the tissue. "He never walked out."

"Megan, I'm so sorry. That's a terrible thing to live through. Does Lester know about this?"

She shook her head adamantly. "No. I haven't told him yet. I didn't want him to be scared off by the 'damaged girl'." She put the tissue back in her pocket. "Steph, it took me a long time to get past the hurt, of losing Justin, enough to date again. No matter how much people tried to convince me otherwise, I always felt like I would be cheating on him."

"That's understandable. I've never been in your situation, and I can't imagine how hard that was for you. Ranger and I both have dangerous jobs. You've seen that first hand. We love each other very much. A loss like that for either one of us would be...beyond devastating."

"That's why Lester is so important to me. He's the first man that I've allowed myself to feel anything for in a long time. I can't afford to be fooled about our relationship."

"I really don't think you're being fooled." Stephanie spoke reassuringly. "I haven't had a heart-to-heart with Lester about you, but I read people pretty well. That man isn't toying with you. His feelings are genuine." She let go of Megan's hand and put hers back in her lap. "If they're not and he's being a fool, then I'll kick his ass for you. And if he told you everything about last night, then you know I can do it!"

Megan gave Stephanie and appreciative smile. "Thanks, Steph. He told me. Did you really kick that kid in the balls?"

"Yep."

"Well, I consider myself very fortunate that I have you looking out for me."

"We women have to stick together. How else are we going to keep these guys in line? I can't wait until you meet Lula."

"Lula?"

"Yeah, she's a friend of mine from my cousin's bonds office where I work when I'm not working for Ranger. She's dating Tank, Ranger's second in command. She's quite a character. In Lester's words 'she has him completely whipped'."

"Tank?"

"You'll understand when you meet him."

"Sounds like a lot of your memory has returned. That's good."

"Yeah, it is. It still can be very frustrating at times, but I remember most of the people I'm going see when I go back to Trenton. Hector's book and the guys were a great help. And Jack! My god, Jack's been a godsend. He's really helped me a lot."

"You look happy. When are you going back to Trenton?"

"Today, after we're done here."

"Oh." Megan's dampened spirits returned.

"Listen, Megan. Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I promise. Give Lester a little leeway. He's new to this whole committed relationship idea, but he's really worth the effort. He's one of the best men I know, and dating a man like Carlos sets the bar pretty high."

"Thanks, Steph. You're a good friend. I don't deserve you."

"Why would you say something like that?"

Megan shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked at her watch. "Oh, my break's almost over. I have to get back to the unit." She stood up to leave.

Stephanie stood as well, and hugged her. "I'll see you soon! Believe me."

"I do. I won't let him go without a fight."

"What fight? There will be no fight?" She called to Megan as she walked away.

Megan turned around as she walked and answered back. "We'll see."

...xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

author notes: I would love to hear from some of the new readers. Let me know what you like or what bother's you. I answer every review! A great big personal thank you to those who have been faithful reviewers for both this story and SOAW.


	4. Chapter 4

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

I wasn't going to post this chapter today, but I decided "What the Hell!" It's Valentine's Day! I hope everyone out there finds love, beyond fanfiction, today! And everyone...I mean everyone...should eat at least one piece of chocolate today...diet be damned!

Lori

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 4

Helen Plum was nervous. She was relieved that she was finally going to be able to see her daughter once again and insisted that they both come for dinner. Ranger had been giving them regular updates so they knew she was doing well, but Helen couldn't wait to look into her eyes and see for herself that Stephanie was better. Her last visit to the hospital had allowed her only to sit by her daughter's bedside while she slept, and then she had been forced to quickly exit the room as Stephanie had begun to stir. She had then moved to the private room Ranger had set up with monitors. As she had watched, what she witnessed had broken her heart. Stephanie's eyes had been full of confusion and her voice hinted at sadness. The only time her spirits seemed to have lightened was when Lester had entered the room. It had made Helen feel useless, but also happy that at least someone had been there to help her daughter through that terrible ordeal.

As the car pulled up in front of the house, Stephanie stiffened. She didn't move to unbuckle her seat belt. She just stared at the small two-story duplex taking in the familiarity that was overwhelming her with images, memories, and conflicting feelings. A single tear rolled down her cheek and she swiftly reached up to stop it before Ranger could see.

"I should be happier to be here." She sniffed. "I know they love me, but there's something else gnawing at me. I don't know how to describe it. I talked about this with Jack yesterday. I thought I was prepared, but now…I don't know if I can do this."

Ranger took her hand; it was sweaty from her nervous anticipation. "Babe, you don't have to do this, but I think you're stronger than you realize." He kissed her palm. "You're right; your parents do love you. I believe that too, but you have always struggled with the conflict between doing what you want and what your mother expects. What did Jack suggest to you for getting through this today?"

Stephanie chuckled at the memory. "He told me to put my big girl panties on and face it like an adult. She's not my mommy anymore, and I'm not her little girl. She's an adult and I'm an adult and we both need to learn to redefine our relationship that way."

"That sounds like good advice."

"It's great advice." She unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door. "The only problem is, he didn't tell _her _that!" She stepped out of the car.

Ranger met her on the sidewalk, took her hand, and together they walked up the steps to the front door. Stephanie briefly held up her finger to ring the doorbell and then thought better of it. She grasped the knob and opened the door.

The first person they met inside was Grandma Mazur coming down the stairs. She looked exactly the same as Stephanie's, still somewhat, sketchy memories and Hector's picture book portrayed her; except for her hair. Today her hair was pitch black.

"Oh, baby girl!" She grabbed Stephanie around the waist and hugged her tightly. "You're back...and you have red hair!." Stephanie knew that her grandma had not been told about her accident but that she had been on an extended work related trip. Edna let go and stood back to look at her and Ranger. "And you brought this hunk of a bounty hunter with the nice package, too. Helen didn't tell me that you were coming." She winked at Ranger.

"Oh, for god's sake mother, I did tell you that…" Helen exasperatedly chastised her mother as she came down the short hallway from the kitchen until she saw Stephanie, and then, she froze for just a second. "Stephanie." She quietly released the word with a combination of relief and suppressed anxiety. She composed herself by wiping her hands on her apron and continued. "You're just in time. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Mother, why don't you and Stephanie start putting the food on the table." She yelled into the living room. "Frank! Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Stephanie and Carlos are here."

Grandma Mazur grabbed Stephanie's hand and pulled her toward the kitchen. "Come on sister, let's get going. You know how cranky she gets when dinner runs late."

Still speechless, Stephanie took a last look back at Ranger as she was dragged down the hallway by the old woman donning black hair, wearing a white track suit and sporting black sneakers. Her grandma looked like an Oreo cookie.

When they were out of sight, Helen looked up at Ranger and put a hand on his arm. "Thank you." She choked out through her harnessed emotion. "She…she looks good."

"She's doing well." He nodded.

"I don't know what to say to her. I don't know what she thinks of me."

"She's still a little confused about your relationship. This would be a good time to clear the air. Just talk to her." He gently advised.

"After dinner, my mother is going to a viewing, at Stiva's, with Ethyl Meznick. Do you think you could have a nice visit with Frank while we…"

"Not a problem." He handed her a bottle of wine.

"Thank you, Carlos. Why don't you take that into the dining room and open it. The cork screw is on the table. I'll get the rest of the dinner finished."

Ranger nodded and met up with Frank, who was making his way into the dining room. They greeted each other, shook hands and joined the rest of the family for dinner.

Throughout a good part of the meal, Frank had little to say, which was nothing out of the ordinary, but he kept stealing brief, reassuring glances at his daughter when he thought no one was looking. Helen was on her second glass of wine and had barely touched her plate, and Stephanie was rather quiet. Conversation among them was stilted at best. Edna Mazur may have been old and a bit eccentric, but she was sharp as a tack and noticed the unusual behavior of her family.

"Ranger, where have you been keeping my granddaughter for the last month?"

"Stephanie's been doing some work for me in Miami."

"Miami! You mean in Florida?"

Ranger nodded as he took another bite of broccoli.

"Well, isn't that a pip." Grandma looked at Stephanie. "I'll bet you saw all kinds of sexy men running around down there. I saw a TV show about them nude beaches down there. If I went to Miami, that's where I would head to first. Those beaches are probably full of young studs with nice, tanned packages."

"Mother!"

"Christ, Edna. A little consideration, please. We're eatin' dinner here for crying out loud."

"What? Bertie Hough down at the 'Clip and Curl' says I look ten years younger with my new hair color." She gently cuffed her hand around a few curls. "I could rustle me up a date with a young hottie. Specially if I wear one of them two-piece bathing suits."

"Ten years still makes you…ancient, crazy old…." Frank mumbled the last few words into a bite of meat and gravy.

Helen downed the rest of her wine and poured another glass. Stephanie couldn't see Ranger's face, but she could feel his amusement in the way he grasped her hand tightly under the table.

Grandma turned her attention to Stephanie. "That sure is some cast. How'd you hurt your hand?"

Stephanie was still struggling with the image of her Grandma Mazur wearing a bathing suit, sitting on a beach surrounded by nude admirers and was briefly thrown by the question. "I…I…you know me Grandma. I can't catch a skip without some kind of disaster." She held up the cast. "Hazard of the job."

"Hunh, is that how you got those bruises on the back of your neck too?" She scooped up some potatoes and put them in her mouth.

Stephanie absently reached to the spot on her neck her grandma referred to. She didn't think anyone would notice the colorful marks still left behind. "Uh…yeah! I hear I'm being considered for the 'Clumsiest Bounty Hunter of the Year' award. I should be notified by the national committee by Christmas. It's between me and the guy in Ohio who fell down three flights of stairs while chasing an incontinent old man wanted for flashing a group of kindergarteners at a bus stop."

The story made Ranger shake his head in amusement. Her father actually snorted and quietly resumed his no nonsense consumption of his meal. Her mother took another long drink of her wine.

"Isn't that something. I'll have to tell the girls down at the beauty shop." Grandma smiled. "Is there a prize for that, too?"

Stephanie choked on her pot roast. "I don't know, Grandma. I'll let you know when I get the call."

The rest of dinner followed a bit closer to a normal routine after the little ice breaker, although Edna was still concerned about the unusually timid demeanor of her granddaughter. As she readied herself to leave for the viewing, she pulled Stephanie into the foyer for a private conversation.

"Did Joe do that to you?" She accused in a low voice, pointing to her cast and bruises.

"Joe? You mean Joe Morelli?"

Grandma nodded. "Cause if he did…." She pulled a gun from her purse.

Stephanie gasped and yanked the gun from her hands. "No! Grandma, no! This was from my job for Ranger. I promise." She shook her head at the gun. "What are you doing with this?"

"A girl's got to protect herself these days…and her family. The Morelli family's got history. I figure that's why you got that hot Ranger with you. Him bein' in security and all."

Stephanie sighed. "Thanks, Grandma, but I don't need you to go after Joe Morelli. He didn't do this to me. I really got this on the job...and Ranger and I are dating now. I didn't hire him to protect me."

"Well I'll be. Dating Huh?" Grandma Mazur's face clearly reflected the images swirling around in her head. "He any good in the sack?"

"What?" Stephanie's mouth dropped open at the salacious question. "That's...that's...Grandma...that's..."

"Don't get your panties in a bunch! Geez, and I thought your mother was a prude." Edna put her hand out to take back her gun.

Stephanie moved it out of her reach. "I'm keeping this. You shouldn't be carrying a gun around."

"Don't matter; I can get another one from Rita Buskirk. She's been tryin' to sell her husband's gun. He was captain of their neighborhood crime watch for thirty-five years, but he's dead now, and can't use it no more."

Stephanie shook her head in resignation. "Here, take this back, and keep it in your purse. No shooting anyone!"

"You know, for being the Bombshell Bounty Hunter, you sure do have a lot of hang-ups when it comes to guns and sex. Maybe now that you're seeing that Ranger fellow, he can fix that for you. I sure wouldn't mind letting him teach me a few things." She clicked her dentures and wiggled her eyebrows in a manner that maybe an eighty-five year old Viagra laced bachelor may have found inviting, but it was just embarrassingly creepy to her thirty-two year old blushing granddaughter.

"Grandma, your ride's here." She fastened the last button on her grandma's coat and turned her toward the door. "Behave yourself."

When Stephanie returned to the dining room only her mother was left. She was dutifully collecting dirty dishes from the table. "Where are Daddy and Carlos?"

"Oh, they're somewhere…you know men. Probably went outside to smoke a cigar or something." She sounded very vague.

"Carlos doesn't smoke."

"Well…maybe they went…. Oh, forget about them. I asked them to leave us alone for while." She developed an authoritative look "Sit down Stephanie."

The sound of her mother's voice propelled Stephanie into automatic obedience. She reached for the closest chair and then Jack's words came to mind. _"You are both adults. You are not her little girl."_ "I'll stand." She said in firm opposition.

Helen looked a little stunned. She quickly regrouped, and adjusted her approach. "Why don't we go into the kitchen, and I'll make some coffee."

Stephanie nodded, and followed her into the kitchen. They worked in tandem, one making the coffee, the other gathering the cups, sugar and cream. In a matter of minutes they were both seated at the kitchen table waiting in awkward silence. The only sounds were the rumble of the coffee maker and the incessant ticking of the old kitchen clock.

Stephanie broke the stalemate. "I'm okay, mom."

"I told Carlos you look really good." Helen hurried to put in. "The last time I saw you…"

"It's okay, I'm getting better. I'm remembering more and more everyday. Just since I walked into this house…" she looked around the kitchen, "I've had so many memories come back to me."

"Good ones, I hope."

"Mostly."

Helen didn't miss the meaning of the single worded reply. "Stephanie, when Carlos called us and told us about your _accident,_ I'm not going to lie, I was angry…."

Stephanie cut her off defensively. "Mom! It wasn't his fault. He did everything he could to protect me."

"I know."

"I understand you have this thing about me being with Joe and you think that Carlos is danger…." Stephanie stopped her rant when she finally processed her mother's words. "What do you mean, you know?"

"I know that Carlos did do everything, and would do anything, to protect you. He's a very good man."

"Buuut?" Stephanie drew out the word knowing that there was a downside to her mother's deceptive compliment.

Helen responded. "But nothing. No buts." She stood up, took the carafe from the coffee maker, and filled both their cups. "You didn't let me finish. I was angry when Carlos called. I was angry that you had been put in danger and this time it was very serious. I wanted to blame your injuries on him and his encouragement of you and your job. I steamed over it, in the car, all the way to Philadelphia. I was so upset, your father was afraid to let me go into the hospital." She finished adding her sugar, stirred her cup, and took a drink. "And when I saw you in that hospital room hooked up to all of those tubes and machines, and you looked so…so…well, I wanted to turn around and give him a piece of my mind." She took another sip. "But when I did turn around and I looked at his face, my anger melted away. He was so hurt and broken. He looked like he'd just lost the most important thing in the world. He didn't make excuses. He took full responsibility. He wanted us to be angry at him. He wanted us to blame_ him_ for your injuries." She put her cup down and looked right into Stephanie's eyes. "He understood my relationship with you better than I did, and he knew I would take the opportunity to point out that you were a failure at this job. He knew that I would try to push you into quitting and make you feel guilty about not marrying Joe and settling down to a normal life...and he was trying to prevent that. He was protecting you…from me…from your own mother."

Helen's sad and guilty admission brought tears to Stephanie's eyes that she attempted to hold back by taking a drink of her coffee. "He loves me."

"He loves you better than I do. Not_ more_, mind you, but _better_. I'm sorry to admit that I have loved you very selfishly. You are a good daughter, Stephanie, and you have always tried to meet my expectations, even when they weren't what you really wanted. But I'm going to try very hard to be accepting of _your_ choices now, and I'll try to keep my opinions to myself."

Stephanie was speechless. Never in her wildest, pain-pill induced hallucinations would she have imagined her mother saying something like this. Her first instinct was to apologize for being the difficult daughter. "I'm sorry too, Mom. I know I'm not like Valerie…"

"Valerie? Why in heavens name would I want you to be like Valerie?"

"Because she's the perfect daughter." Stephanie took a deep breath. "Listen, Mom. I don't want you to keep all your opinions to yourself. I'll still need your advice sometimes. It's just…just…that I don't want to feel like I'm constantly disappointing you."

Helen looked remorseful. "I have done that, haven't I? I've made you feel second best to your sister. I don't mean to do it. It's just that you have this way of…of…"

"Not following the 'Burg' rules?"

"Well a girl should find a husband and settle down, raise a family. That's how I was raised."

"By Grandma Mazur?"

"She's different now, but when I was young that's what was expected of all girls in the 'Burg'."

Stephanie was getting frustrated. They were moving backward not forward. Jack's words came to her once again. _"Redefine the relationship as adults."_ It was time to try it out. "Mom…I…I won't be getting back with Joe. You _do_ understand that don't you?"

"Yes."

"I love Carlos and we are together."

"I know. I think he's very good for you."

"We have never talked about marriage and we may never talk about it. It wasn't a pleasant experience for either of us the first time around. I don't want you to push or try to guilt us in that direction."

Helen was clearly disappointed in this news, but she stayed the course of her new resolve and locked her mouth with a pretend key and threw it away over her shoulder.

Stephanie was reveling in the brilliance of Jack's advice and decided to take it one step further. "And about my job, Mom. I'm learning a lot from Carlos and his men, and I don't intend to quit. As soon as I'm well, I plan to go back to work as a bounty hunter."

"I said I would_ try_ very hard Stephanie. Don't expect miracles overnight."

Stephanie smiled for the first time since she sat down with her mother. "Fair enough."

"But don't think all of these changes are on me. I expect you to make a few concessions, too."

"Like what?"

"I want you and Carlos to come to dinner at least once a week."

Stephanie thought about it. "I'll have to run that by him, but if we're in town I don't see that as being a problem."

"Good." Her mother replied. "I just have one more request."

"What is it?"

Her mother fiddled with her tea cup and then brushed some imaginary crumbs off the table. He wouldn't look at Stephanie in the eye. "Even if you don't get married, I want you to consider giving me a grandchild."

Stpehanie's jaw dropped and her eyes got very big. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my mother?" Stephanie actually paused, waiting for an answer. "Are you kidding? You actually want me to have a child out of wedlock? Mom, if we've never talked about marriage why on earth would we have talked about having children? We haven't even been together that long!"

"Do you know for sure that Carlos doesn't want to have any children?"

"Noooo." She hedged. "Like I said, we've never talked about it."

"I'm just asking you to consider it. Promise me you'll talk to him about it. That's all I'm asking."

Stephanie felt a little bit like the dupe in a card trick. She knew for sure that she was being had, but she just can't figure out how. Her mother's slight of hand was masterful, and she needed some time to figure out the scam she was using. "It can't hurt to talk about it with Carlos, but I'm not promising anything."

Her mother smiled. "Fair enough."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

The ride back to Haywood was quiet. Stephanie was totally preoccupied with the conversation she had just had with her mother. She had only given Ranger a brief summary, no details.

"Babe, we came into Trenton and went straight to you parent's house. I know you've got to be tired, so I told Tank that we would be going straight up to seven without stopping. I didn't want you to be overwhelmed by the welcoming committee."

Stephanie smiled as she remembered her mother's words about Carlos protecting her. He was doing it again. It felt very nice. She took his hand. "Thanks, I am tired. I don't think I could take anymore today."

"Ella will have everything ready at the apartment for you. She was beyond happy when I told her you were coming to stay. I think she loves you more than me!" Ranger's smile told her he wasn't too disappointed in the competition. "Do you remember the last time we were here?"

Stephanie tried to remember the circumstances of her last visit here. They pulled into the garage, and even in the dim light of the overhead bulbs, Ranger could see the moment she started recalling details. He had gotten so used to the various looks of revelation that occurred on her face every time a misplaced memory would resurface. Her telltale expressions let him know if the memory was painful, comforting, happy or passionate. Jack had reminded him several times that all the memories were important and that he shouldn't try to protect her from them…even the most difficult or painful ones. Ranger did his best to help her process those, but he particularly loved to witness the ones of their more intimate moments.

"We were planning for the dinner with Giordano." She finally answered. "We had a big pow-wow in the conference room. I remember thinking how complicated it all seemed. So many details being taken into consideration."

Ranger pulled the Mercedes into one of his usual parking spots. He noticed that Stephanie's Lexus had already been returned. Lester had driven it, and Rex, back from Philly. He turned off the car and turned toward her. She was still thinking, and he wanted her to recall the entire memory and the feelings it would evoke. "What else do you remember?"

"I remember the phone call to Andrew and making arrangements with Ella to make the cheesecake we would need for dessert." She stopped for a moment and looked at Ranger. "I don't like the way I left things with him." Her voice was slightly sad and reflective. "I would like to see him again." Stephanie wasn't sure how that statement would go over with Ranger. She remembered her relationship with Andrew and how much of it Ranger was privy to. It was something they hadn't discussed since she left the hospital. "Would that bother you?"

Ranger was not expecting this direction in the conversation, and had to readjust his emotions. "Why do you want to see him?" He was trying very hard to remain neutral and supportive; but it was difficult.

Stephanie sighed. "I don't know what I'd say to him, really. I just feel the need to fix something there. It was emotional and awkward the way we left things. He's a good man, and deserves better than what I gave him."

"I don't think he expects to hear from you."

"Maybe. I'll think about it some more." She waved him off as if to say she was done with that detour of the conversation. She unbuckled her seatbelt and reached over to unbuckle his. Once they were both free, she slowly climbed into his lap and placed both her hands on his face eager to redirect the conversation back to its original course. "I remember more about that conference room."

"You do?"

"Un huh." She slowly nodded. "I remember everyone leaving. I remember your hands on me in the most erotic and powerful way I had ever felt from you." She very softly kissed his lips. "I remember the cameras and feeling very…naughty." She moved her mouth to his ear and nibbled before continuing. "I remember the horse play." She whispered seductively.

Ranger had pulled her to him tightly and was now running his hands up and down her back. His mouth had found a particularly sensitive place on her neck. "Babe, we could do this here and be interrupted by Santos, who _will_ come nosing around when we don't get out of the car, because they all know we're down here, or we can get out of the car and continue this in the privacy of the apartment."

Stephanie reluctantly sat back. "I love Lester dearly, but you're right. He wouldn't think twice about interrupting us. The man has no boundaries when it comes to our privacy."

They calmed down from the condition they had worked themselves into and made their way to the elevator. Stephanie made a friendly finger wave to the cameras and did her best to look tired and unapproachable for the evening by any potential visitors. She leaned her back against Ranger with her eyes closed, and his arms wrapped protectively around her waist. Once the apartment door was closed, and their privacy was assured, it took no more than thirty seconds to go from fully dressed to nothing left. They didn't even bother with lights.

It was after midnight when Stephanie woke from a disturbing dream. She was a little disoriented by her surroundings. She wasn't alarmed because Ranger's arm had her warmly nestled against his body, but it took her a few seconds to realize where they were sleeping…Haywood. They were in Ranger's apartment.

"Babe, what's the matter?"

"I'm sorry I woke you."

"Do you need a drink?"

"Yeah." Stephanie made the effort to get up but Ranger held her down.

"Let me go get it, Babe. The last time you took off to get a drink in the middle of the night, I found you accosting children in the kitchen." It was very dark in the room and she couldn't turn to see his face but she could feel his smile against her shoulder.

"Ass." She elbowed him as he pulled away from her to get up.

In a matter of moments he had returned with a bottle of cold water from the kitchen. He opened the lid and guided it into her hand. Stephanie leaned up on her elbow and drank a generous amount. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you." She handed him back the half empty bottle. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" He set the bottle on the bedside table.

"It's totally dark in here. You made it to the kitchen and back without turning on a single light. How did you not trip over something and fall on your ass?"

"Babe. I can walk through this apartment blindfolded."

"Is that part of your Special Forces training?"

"It helps. But I've lived here a long time. I'm familiar with the layout of the apartment, even in the dark. It's not uncommon for me to move around in here at night without turning on the lights. You can probably do it your apartment."

"Ha! That's what you think! I have a permanently bent big toe that proves otherwise. My apartment doesn't get this dark and I still run into door jams and furniture."

"It's just a matter of counting steps."

"Counting steps?"

"Babe, it's six steps between this side of the bed and the door. It's eight steps down the hallway, a short right and fourteen steps through the living room to the kitchen."

"You actually memorized that?"

"That's where the military training comes in. If we have to run an operation in the dark, it helps if we have plans of the building and memorize the layout and distances." Ranger pulled Stephanie into his arms and they snuggled back under the blankets. "Babe, you never told me what woke you up."

Stephanie wasn't sure she wanted to get into this right now, but he'd asked and she didn't want to be evasive. "It was a dream."

"Was it some memory coming back to haunt you?"

"No, something my mother said."

"You haven't said much about your talk with her."

"I know. It's not that I didn't want to tell you about it. It's just that I needed some time to process it all. She really surprised me. In a good way…I think?"

"That sounds very intriguing."

"She basically apologized for being a bad mother. She said that when she spoke with you at the hospital she realized that you loved me better than her. Not _more_ than her, but _better_. She agreed to let go of the idea that I would ever marry Joe. She's actually happy that I'm with you. I told her that marriage was not something that you and I had ever talked about, maybe never will, and that she was not to force the issue. And she reluctantly agreed. I also told her that I still plan to keep my job as a bounty hunter and that she was going to have to accept it and stop complaining about it."

"What did she say to that?"

"That was a tough one for her, but she said that she would try _very_ hard to accept my choices."

"It sounds like it went very well."

"I thought so too…until…"

"Until what?"

"Until she listed her demands for me to agree to." Stephanie nervously grasped the sheet and focused on her hands.

"What were her demands?"

"Her first demand was that we have dinner with them at least once a week…as long as we're in town and available."

"That's sounds reasonable."

Stephanie looked toward his face in surprise. "Really? You'd be okay with that?"

"Sure, Babe. This is your family. I want us to spend time with them." He kissed the top of her head. "Even with my Grandma Mazur there?"

"Your Grandma and I will come to an understanding." He chuckled warmly. "What was her second demand?"

Stephanie wasn't sure what he meant by that, but didn't think about it too long before continuing. "She said that even if we don't get married, she would like us to consider giving her a…grandchild."

Ranger went absolutely still. His fingers, which had been tracing delicate patterns on her stomach, froze in their tracks.

Stephanie hurried to explain. "I'm totally convinced that the pod people have come and taken over my mother's body. Having a child out of wedlock is not only a sin against the church, but the 'Burg' would use it as fodder for gossip for an eternity. My mother would never hear the end of it. I actually think she's lost her mind!"

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her that we had never talked about having children. She made me promise to talk to you about it. So I have, and we can tell her that it won't happen. I mean really. Can you imagine me being a mother?"

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, I can imagine you as a mother. I think you'd make a great mom, Babe."

"Are you saying that you want another child?"

"I don't know. We've never talked about it. But it's not entirely out of the realm of possibilities for me anymore. Have you ever thought about it?"

"I…I…I…"

Ranger chuckled. "Don't stress over it, Babe. If it's not something you're ready to discuss right now, that's okay."

"It's not that, Carlos. It's that I was so thrown by your response. I never thought you would want more children. I know how much you love Julie, but it took you so long to get there with her. I just always got the impression that after the difficulties you had…that one child was enough for you."

"I do love Julie, very much. But the circumstances surrounding her conception and birth were not ideal. I was very young, getting ready to be shipped out, and I didn't have the relationship with Rachel that two people who are having a baby should have. We married out of obligation to the baby." Ranger reached over to the bedside table and turned on the small lamp. He then turned Stephanie's face with his hands so that they were looking at each other. "I love you very much, and I guarantee you that will never change. I am in a very different place in my life now. I told you that you make me want things I never wanted before. I could very easily see us married and raising a family together."

"Wow!" Stephanie pushed the breathy word from her lungs. "Wow!' Her voice had a little more power to it now. "She's really good!"

"Who are you talking about?"

"My mother!" Stephanie shouted. "She knew that if I got you to talk about having a baby, the conversation would turn to marriage. She knows how you feel about me and that your honor and devotion would lead us to this point in the conversation. I've been wracking my brain all evening trying to figure out her whole 'having a baby out of wedlock' angle and I just got it! The woman is an absolute genius!"

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	5. Chapter 5

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 5

Ranger stepped out of the shower and pulled a towel off the rack. "I'm going to wrap this towel around you, and I want you to go straight into that room and put some clothes on. I'm not coming out until you're dressed."

Stephanie giggled. "Am I too much for you, Carlos?"

"I have to work today, and that forty-five minute shower put me behind. I was already running late from the hour long wake up call you gave me this morning. Christ, Babe, you're insatiable."

"Is that a complaint?"

"Hell no!"

"I don't know what it is with me. I slept great last night, and I feel really energetic today." She pulled off the cast protector and hung it on the shower bar. "I'm all tingly…in a good way. I feel like a teenager with raging hormones controlling my every thought."

Ranger sweetly kissed her on the lips and turned her toward the door. "I'm glad you feel so good today, Babe. Maybe Ella has something extra sugary planned for you for breakfast."

"Coward." She blurted as she marched off.

At breakfast Ella did fuss over Stephanie with some of her favorite foods. The ever perfect housekeeper simultaneously served, cleaned and chatted. And when she found herself idle, she stared at Stephanie, shook her head and kept repeating; "Es tan bueno tenerte de vuelta a donde perteneces, nuestra querida Stephanie." (Darling Stephanie, it's so good to have you back where you belong.) Eventually Ella ran out of reasons to be in the apartment and reluctantly left the two of them alone once more.

Stephanie was still sitting at the counter moaning through the last bite of her second cinnamon roll. Ranger walked up from behind, wrapped his arms around her and placed his chin on her shoulder. "You know this is just the tip of the iceberg."

"If she keeps this up, I'm going to gain fifty pounds by Thanksgiving. You'll mistake me for the turkey."

"I mean today. You're going to be smothered with attention down on the fifth floor."

She took a long slow drink of orange juice. "Hmmmmm. Let me think about this. I'm going to be hugged, touched, kissed, and otherwise pampered by an endless throng of gorgeous, muscle bound, single men." She spun around in on the stool, put her arms around his neck and pulled him into a mind numbing kiss. "Sounds perfectly dreadful."

Ranger grunted and lifted her off the stool. He carried her over to the couch and laid her down covering her body with his own. He very thoroughly kissed her for the next few minutes then pulled back. "I'll be right there, watching."

"Jealous?" she playfully teased while running her hands through his hair.

"I don't get jealous, I…"

Stephanie cut him off. "…eliminate the competition." She finished for him. "I remember." She ran a finger over his lips. "You're not seriously worried about any of your men's intentions being less than completely honorable are you?"

"It's not my men I'm worried about, Babe. They know exactly what I expect from them when it comes to you." He hopped up off the couch, headed toward the door, opened it, and turned back to her with a smile. "It's those raging hormones of _yours_ I'll be keeping my eye on." Just as the door was about to close, he heard the heavy thump of one of Stephanie's shoes making contact with the wood.

"Ass!"

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Ranger stepped off the elevator on five and was respectfully greeted by several of the men on duty as he made his way down the hall to Tank's office. He didn't miss that most of them also, somewhat surreptitiously, scanned the room for his missing Babe.

"Report." he barked as he entered the office.

Tank sat back in his chair and gave Ranger a tight smile. "'Bout fucking time you made your way back to Trenton full time." The tight smile broke into a full fledged grin as he stood and reached for Ranger's hand. They did the fist bump followed by their traditional, complicated, handshake exchange. "Where's Bomber?"

"She'll be down later. What's going on with the investigation?"

"Nothing new. It's like this guy dropped off the face of the earth. I don't get it. First he's all over Trenton asking questions about Bomber, and then…poof! He drops off the fucking radar."

"Nothing new from the informants?"

"Nada. And Connie's continuing to keep her ear to the ground with her family; nothing there either. Hector's also coming up empty on the streets. Maybe whoever it was got spooked and gave up."

"Maybe." Ranger rubbed the back of his neck. "It's been too quiet. I don't trust it. Something's just not right."

Ranger stood there, thinking. Someone had been interested in Stephanie. He was worried that the Bilotti family was after her for some revenge due to her part in the capture of Victor Giordano, the son of Dominic Bilotti's niece. But almost all of their avenues for information had turned up as dead ends.

"We have one more option, Ranger. Alexander Ramos. I think you should talk to him. If it's a family issue, he'll know details or can find them out for you…if properly motivated. You know how deep his _influence_ goes."

"He's in the states?"

"Deal."

Ranger looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Hannibal's causing trouble again. He came back to straighten him out."

"Hannibal's in jail."

"Hasn't stopped him from getting into shit."

"Can you set something up?"

"Already done. You meet with him, at the beach house in Deal, this afternoon at 1400 hours. Take the box of cigars I left on your desk."

Ranger's other eyebrow rose to meet the first.

"They're his favorites." Tank shrugged.

"You're a scary man, Tank." He turned to leave.

"Hey, somebody around here has to work!"

Ranger walked out of the office shaking his head in wonder, thinking that the vacation he promised Tank may not be nearly enough.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie had agreed to have lunch with four different Merry Men in the next week, and she'd been on the floor for less than five minutes. Some of the men just wanted to hug her and welcome her back, and others wanted to make sure she remembered who they were. When they noticed her cast, black felt-tipped markers appeared out of no where, and a line formed for those eager to sign it. Amidst the jokes and light-hearted banter Stephanie sensed the love and devotion these men held for her. It was especially apparent in the eyes of those men who had been assigned to the Giordano job and were there at the hotel when she was injured. Hector had been the one who had told her of the events that preceded and immediately followed her injury. There was a lot of guilt among the men about their failure to protect her. She had her work cut out for her. Of course, she had spent a great deal of time during the last couple of weeks, not only with Ranger, but also with Lester, Bobby, Hal and Hector in Philadelphia. Jack Winchester's presence and professional intervention had gone a long way in helping them all deal with their guilt; especially Hector. Stephanie intended to assure the others, as well, that she in no way held any of them responsible for what happened and neither should they.

As she reached the end of the makeshift receiving line she was spun out of Lester's arms and landed abruptly into Ranger's.

"Told you I'd be watching." He whispered in her ear.

"Did I conduct myself appropriately and to your satisfaction?"

He didn't answer but took her hand, led her into his office and closed the door. He backed her up against the wall and trapped her there with his hips firmly pressed against hers. A deep uncontrolled kiss took her breath away. "Damn it feels good to have you back here again. What you do to me, Babe…"

He finished the sentence with a physical illustration instead of words.

"Are you sure it's _my_ raging hormones inspiring all the…contact we can't seem to get enough of?" she managed to whisper out between kisses

They were interrupted by the sound of Ranger's cell phone. He grabbed the phone off his hip, looked at the caller ID…and froze.

"Shit." He pulled away from Stephanie's body and took her hand. He walked them over to the couch, sat her down next to him and then answered it.

"Manoso." His voice was tight, his body rigid, and his face was blank.

Stephanie had never heard him answer the phone that way. It was very…subordinate. Her heart sunk as she contemplated the only possible identity of a caller that would require that type of response. As the conversation further developed, short, laconic replies that contained words like;

sir,…

mission,…

report,…

when…, droned into her ears, and only served to allow her suspicion to take root. But when Ranger looked at her face and read the concern in her eyes, then placed his hand on her cheek; the answering reticent look on his own face confirmed it for her.

He was leaving.

Before Ranger even finished the call, Stephanie was fighting back tears. She remembered their conversation on the beach in Miami. She had promised him she could handle this. She had promised him that she would be there for him when he returned, no matter what.

He closed his phone and continued to look straight into her eyes. His thumb caught the single tear that inevitably escaped.

"When?" She barely managed to get out the word.

"Tomorrow."

"How long?"

"Ten maybe twelve…"

Stephanie stood up and paced in front of the window. She was finding it hard to breathe. "Oh, god." She continued to pace but switched directions and began giving herself a pep talk. "I can do this…we can do this…ten months…a year…that's…I can live with…"

"Babe…"

"Damn it we just can't get a break…first it was your rules…then my accident…we just started this…"

"Babe…"

"I'm not ready…I know I said I could deal…it's not fair that you have to…"

"STEPHANIE!"

At the forcefulness of his voice, she came to an abrupt stop in her pacing and rambling to look at him. "Carlos, I'm not ready for you to be gone ten to twelve…"

"Days."

"What?"

"Ten to twelve days, Babe. That's all."

"Days…not months?"

"Days. And I'm not even leaving the country."

"You're not?"

"No." He got up and took her hand. "Come here. Sit down." Stephanie was in a daze, trying to make sense of the information, so he led her to the couch and guided her by her shoulders onto the cushion.

"I don't understand. I heard you say mission. I thought that meant…"

"I know what you thought. You thought the worst. Babe, they need me in Washington. I'll be working with a group of officers who are taking a course on national security strategies at the National Defense University in Fort McNair."

"But when you looked at the caller ID and…the look on your face."

"The call was from my government handler, and I assumed the worst too. But it turns out he's friends with the instructor and offered to loan me out on assignment to him.

"They need you to teach?"

"I'll be sort of a guest lecturer. I've been instructed to share with them my experiences on some of my less…top secret missions."

Stephanie's mind was still reeling, and she was having trouble believing that her worst fears were not coming true. Ranger took her face in his hands to get her to focus on his words.

"Babe, I'll be back before Thanksgiving."

"Ten to twelve days." she murmured to herself. "I can do that. I won't like it, but I can do it." She took a deep breath. "I'm going to miss you."

"I know, Babe. I'll miss you too. I'll be back before you know it." He kissed her gently. "I need to get things organized with Tank, and I have a meeting at two o'clock. Why don't we have Ella make us something special for dinner? Or we could go out…whatever you feel up to."

"If you're leaving tomorrow, I'd rather stay in…just the two of us alone. I don't really want to share you with anybody else."

"Sounds perfect. I'll let her know." He put a smile on his face and changed the subject in an attempt to modify her gloomy attitude. "What do have planned for today?"

"I really want to go to the bonds office today and see Lula and Connie. I'm going to make an appointment with Mr. Alexander to change my hair back to its normal color, and late this afternoon I have a session with Jack upstairs in the apartment."

Ranger picked up a single curl near her face and played with it.

"You won't be disappointed will you? If I change my hair back to brunette."

"Why would I be disappointed? I didn't fall in love with your hair. I fell in love with you. And I'll love you brunette, red, blond or bald."

"Bald!" She made a sour face at the thought.

"Are you afraid I could really see the wheels turning up there if you didn't have all that hair covering your head?"

"Very funny. I've already lost enough of it from being shaved for surgery. The rest stays."

"Since you're still on driving and work restrictions, and you need the security, there will be someone available for you all day. I'm sorry I can't be with you when you go to the office."

"That's okay. Yesterday was the tough one. Connie and Lula and I will just be sitting around playing catch-up and eating. You'd be bored out of your mind." Stephanie sat back on the couch looking uneasy about something.

"You're head may be covered with all that hair but I see something burning in your eyes, Babe. What is it?"

"I know we talked about me taking time off…and I will." She hurried to add. "I'm not ready to go back to chasing skips..."

"But?"

She smiled. "But _I _will be bored out of _my _mind if I have to sit here with nothing to do for the next couple of weeks. Soooo," she dragged out, "I was wondering if there was any way I could do some things around here."

"What things?" He asked suspiciously. Ranger knew fully well how fast Stephanie could become over involved. She struggled with boundaries and limits.

"Maybe some computer work and…maybe sit in with some of the guys on occasional surveillance jobs."

"You _want_ to do surveillance? Babe, you hate surveillance."

"I know, I know…but it's safe, I wouldn't be alone, and it would get me out of here every once in a while without feeling like I'm dragging a chauffeur or babysitter around." She dropped her chin to her chest and mumbled. "I don't want to be a burden to anyone. If you think the guys would hate the idea, I don't have to do it. I just really need to feel useful."

Ranger lifted her chin and held her attention with a serious fix on her eyes. "You know the guys love having you around. You are never a burden. I'll talk to Tank. He'll work you into the schedule on some of the more secure surveillance jobs. And there's always computer work to be done around here." He could see the smile building on her face in relief. "Pace yourself, Babe…please. Don't jump into a full work day and get in over your head. You haven't had any headaches for a few days, but Curtis cautioned you more than once about taking it easy."

"I will. I promise." She hugged him tightly.

"You know I'd take you with me to Washington in a heartbeat if I could." He kissed her on the head and then leaned back to see her face. "But I'm going to be interacting with these officers not only in the classroom but also in the labs working up simulations and worst case scenario exercises. And you still have your sessions with Jack. Did I tell you he's moving into one of the apartments on four?"

Stephanie's eyes widened in surprise. "He is?"

Ranger chuckled. "Yeah. I offered and he accepted. He thinks he should stay at least another couple of weeks to finish your sessions and it would be much more convenient to help you, when needed, if he was close, but I think the fact that Hector has a room on the same floor weighed heavily into his decision too."

Stephanie was quite pleased with the connection her friend, Hector, had made with the good doctor. "Do you realize that, even though some bad things happened as a result of the Giordano case, some really good things have come about as well? I mean, think about it. Not only is there, what seems to be, the very interesting match between Hector and Jack; but Bobby's made a reconnection with Adria, and things seem to be going along nicely there." She smiled as she continued. "And Lester and Megan! Have you ever known Lester to date someone for more than two days?"

"Not in a long time." He said, shaking his head in amusement.

"Of course, the best thing to come out of this whole…" She took her hands and put them on either side of his face and slid into his lap. "You and I figuring out how to be together, is the best thing to come out of this. I'm going to miss you so much when you're gone."

Ranger leaned in and captured her lips with his. The fact that their bodies were already close wasn't enough. He pulled her even more tightly against his chest and, feeling the need to touch more of her skin, his hands desperately wandered until they found their way underneath her shirt. In an unusual show of restraint, Stephanie reluctantly pulled away from the embrace first.

"Okay…" She said through short breaths. "I'm going to take my raging hormones and separate them from your raging hormones before we make a spectacle in, what I assume to be, your no-so-soundproof office." She stood and straightened her shirt. "Will I see you after my appointment with Jack?"

"Yeah, Babe."

"Good. I don't think I can wait until after dinner." She smiled. "Who's my Merry Man de jour?"

"Lester. He'll take you to the bonds office, lunch, where ever you want or need to go today."

"Great! I'll go find Lester." She leaned over and gave him a quick goodbye kiss. "Have a good day dear."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Lester and Stephanie headed out of the RangeMan garage and headed for the bond's office.

"I assume you want to stop at the bakery?"

Stephanie looked up in confusion, caught off guard by his statement. "Hmm? Oh yeah, Les, thanks for thinking of it. I almost forgot."

"Thoughts must be pretty deep to make you forget about donuts. What's up?"

"Ranger's leaving."

Lester was obviously surprised. "When?"

"Tomorrow."

"I'm really sorry about that, Beautiful. I know that's going to be tough on you."

"It's okay, Les. It could be worse. He's only going to be gone a couple of weeks. It's not even a dangerous mission. He'll be in Washington the whole time."

"That's not so bad at all then." He said with relief. "What's got you stewing?"

"I was wondering if you'd help me with something while he's gone."

"Sure, Steph. You name it."

"I told Ranger that I wanted to step up my training. That car-jacking incident at the Dollar Store and then the other night at the safe house got me thinking."

"Ranger mentioned that to us. He asked if we would help you out with some basic defense moves. Are you saying you want to start right away?"

"Yeah. I think getting a good start on it while Ranger is gone will help make the time pass easier and faster."

"What about your wrist?"

"I don't know. I haven't talked to Bobby yet."

"I'll talk to Bobby and if he says it's okay to do some modified training, then count me in. You might want to consider asking Hector to help you with some defensive knife skills. He's the best, and that seems to be your weapon of choice lately." He snickered at the memory of her with those kitchen knives against Hector and the teen deviants.

"I will, but I'd also like to add two more things to the list for my training."

"I'll bet one of them isn't physical conditioning."

Stephanie just stuck her tongue out at him in response to the insult. "I want some more training with my gun, and I'd like to know more about lock picking."

Lester gave her a great big smile. "I've got you covered on the gun skills, but the only one close to Ranger's skills with breaking and entering is Hector. Knives and B & E were what got him into trouble as a kid."

"Thanks, I'll talk to him."

"Anytime, Beautiful."

They pulled into the Dunkin' Donuts just a few blocks from the bonds office and picked up a dozen to go. As they got settled back into the car Stephanie decided to tackle the question of Lester's personal life.

"So, Lester, how's it going with Megan?"

Lester ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I honestly don't know, Beautiful. I think everything's going great, and then I get the feeling I've done something wrong, and I don't have a clue what it is. She's got me all tied up in knots half the time."

"And the other half?"

"The other half is pure heaven." The smile on his face said it all.

"Oh, boy! You have it bad, my friend." She laughed lightly.

"Don't I know it. I never thought a woman would have this effect on me."

"You've never let a woman get this close before have you?"

"Not in a long time…and even then I wasn't ready for it. I was just going with what I thought was expected of me back then. When you join the service, you see all these guys marrying girls at the last minute, before they get shipped out. Some out of desperation to have someone back home who pines for them, writes to them or just to have someone to make coming home worthwhile. Others do it for the benefits…you know the pay is better if you're married and…if you don't make it back, the death benefits go to a wife, but not a girlfriend, so it made sense to a lot of guys just to get married before they left."

"I didn't realize that."

"Yeah, well a lot of those marriages didn't last." They both looked at each other, each thinking that Ranger's marriage was a prime example.

"Did you marry someone under those circumstances?"

Lester pulled into a parking space across the street from the bonds office and turned off the engine. He dropped his hands into his lap and sighed. "I came very close. While I was in basic training, in Fort Benning, Georgia, I met this girl, Elaina. We started dating, and it became pretty serious, pretty fast. I guess I loved her; at least as much as a nineteen year old boy is capable of. Anyway, when I finished basic combat, I transferred to Fort Bragg for AIT, and I asked her to go with me. You know, settle her in an apartment near the base, have her get a job to fill her time when I was in training. I was pretty sure we were going to end up getting married and I wanted her close so we could be together when I was on leave."

"I take it she wasn't very keen on the idea?"

"Hell no! She packed her bags and almost ran to North Carolina. She was glad to have a reason to leave home. She didn't get along with her parents very well. We found an apartment, bought some of the basics, and things were going along great." He stopped talking and stared out the window. His eyes went sad.

Stephanie broke the silence. "Lester, if this is too personal you don't have to finish the story."

"It's okay, Beautiful. I bought a ring. I didn't have a lot of money, and it wasn't much of a ring." Lester shook his head at the memory. "I felt like such a fool. They warn you in basic about women who are looking for a military husband. You take off to war and they sit back and collect the housing allowance and health insurance. Then when the cat's away…"

"Les, I'm sorry."

"She didn't even wait until we were married and I was gone. I surprised her one day when she thought I was on duty." He blinked the memory away. "You know? Don't be sorry; I'm not. I realized I didn't even love her like I should, for someone I was planning on marrying. She did me a big favor by not waiting. It would have ended badly anyway."

"But I suspect her actions had a hand in jading your opinions on relationships."

"Yeah, but it also made me really focus on my career in the military. Not having any strings tying me down allowed me to make decisions that gave me great opportunities. And look where I am now."

"Why Megan? Why now?"

"I suppose you and Ranger have a lot to do with that. I mean the two of you together; Beautiful…it's really something to see. The truth is, what you two have has made most of us re-evaluate our ideas about relationships. And Megan? Well there's just something about being with her that makes me feel…"

"Loved?"

"Yeah. But it's more than that. She doesn't put up with my bullshit or my player attitude. She sees past all that. She gets me. It's not just about the sex. We talk and laugh. Hell, I haven't had more than a superficial conversation with a woman in…ever." He looked at Stephanie and realized his error. "I mean…a woman that I find attractive enough to want to sleep with…not you…your different...not that your unattractive...not by a long shot...but I would never even think about...because Ranger would...Oh Shit! Did that come out right?" He was totally flustered.

Stephanie laughed at his bewilderment. "It's okay, I understand what you meant." He took her hand in apology. "That's nice, Lester. I'm happy for you." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I think Megan is a very lucky girl."

"Enough of this sappy BFF stuff. If you don't get out of this car and head into that office, Lula's going to bust a seam in that dress. And I don't think either one of us wants to be a witness to that spectacle."

Stephanie looked out the car window to see Lula pressed against the pane of glass in the front door of the bonds office. She was bouncing up and down straining to see the occupants of the unmistakable RangeMan SUV. The movement was testing the support limit of her spandex shirt. Connie was anxiously peering over her shoulder. Stephanie reached for the door handle to get out of the car and Lester put a hand on her to halt her progress.

"Let me get out first. I'll walk you in and then come back out and wait for you in the car. Do not even think about sneaking out the back door with Lula." He seriously ordered. "Tank already called her and made her promise not to let you talk her into it."

"Moi?" Steph innocently proclaimed.

"Yes, you. If you want to leave, we go together and in this car only. Got it?"

"Got it." She agreed…and when she read the skeptical look on his face she then added solemnly, "Scout's honor!"

Lester just shook his head and got out of the car.

When Connie and Lula caught sight of Stephanie exiting the car, they could barely contain their excitement. She almost didn't make it inside before she was surrounded by arms. It was a good thing Lester had the box of donuts. They would have become a casualty of her welcome committee's enthusiasm.

"Oh my god, girl. It's about time you got your white ass out of that car and in here to see us. We was beginnin' to think you'd changed your mind. What took so long?"

"I'm sorry. We were finishing up something important. Look!" She tried for a diversion and grabbed the box from Lester's hand. "I brought food!" She fought her way out of the melee, placed the box on Connie's desk, opened it, grabbed one in a napkin and dangled it in front of them. "Who wants a chocolate sprinkle?"

"That donut has my name on it!" Connie snatched the donut and headed over to the coffee pot. She poured a cup for Stephanie and the three of them sat down on the office couch to catch up. Lester sneaked back to his car and took up his security watch a safe distance from the chitchat.

"Steph, you really look good. We were so worried about you."

"How much do you guys know about what happened?"

"Tween her information from Woody and mine from Tankie, I expect we know just about everything. Girl, you was in some deep shit. You got all your memories back yet?"

"Pretty much. I mean, it's a long process. I don't remember some things until I meet certain people or go to certain places. Then I'm flooded with recall. It can be overwhelming. You have to be kind of patient with me."

"We can do that. I'm takin' this psychology class down at the community college; on account of I'm improvin' myself. Your story is better than some of those in the textbook. I'm thinkin' of writin' a paper on you."

"You'll have to get in line," Stephanie declared.

Connie stood up to get the whole donut box and bring it to the small coffee table in front of the couch. "What do you mean?"

"Oh it's just that Bobby's girlfriend Adria, is a writer, and she has this crazy idea of writing a book about me and my experiences as a bounty hunter." She tried to brush it off as something of an annoyance.

"Girl, that'd make you famous. I bet Oprah'd want to talk to you."

"No. I would _not_ be famous. She'd change my name and anything else that would identify me."

"Would she want to write about us too?" Connie sounded a little star struck.

"I guess so. You guys are kind of important to my job. So I would assume you'd be in the books too."

"Books? As in more than one?"

Stephanie was feeling a little self-conscious with all the focus on her impending fame. "She thinks it has potential to be a series of books. I'm sure it will turn out to be nothing. Do you think anyone wants to read about the life of an inept girl from the 'Burg' failing miserably at being a bounty hunter?"

"Fuckin' A. People eat that shit up. That's the kinda thing they make movies out of. Look at that Twilight chick. Her books are about nothin' but vampires and werewolves. Your life is much more interestin' than that. You got that fine RangeMan in your bed. You had Officer Hot Ass comin' and goin'. You got all them crazies chasin' after you all the time. Shit, you even got Diesel!" She picked up a second donut and continued her rant. "Hey, you also got me! I'm a big, beautiful, voluptuous woman of color with a incredible sense of style. I beat the hell out of some pale-assed hundred year old virgin." Lula sat back against the couch and bit into her donut. The white powder that drifted into her cleavage and down her shirt, challenged her air of superiority.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	6. Chapter 6

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 6

Ranger parked the Turbo in the driveway of the large pink-stoned estate situated on the beach. The chilly November wind whipping off the ocean nipped at his face. Before he even reached the front door, it opened, and a short, balding man dressed in a black suit greeted him.

"Mr. Manoso, please come in." The man stepped aside to let him enter. "Mr. Ramos is expecting you."

Ranger nodded and stepped into the foyer. During his preliminary scan of the house he identified three security cameras and an armed guard on the second floor landing, strategically placed behind a large pillar. He could almost guarantee another one was stationed across the balcony, but an enormous chandelier suspended from the ceiling cut off his line of sight.

"May I take your coat, sir?"

"No. I'm fine, thank you." Ranger was courteous…but wary. This wasn't going to be an affectionate encounter. He had personally never had any trouble with Alexander Ramos. When Ranger was framed for the supposed murder of his youngest son, Homer, it had been someone else's doing. Alexander Ramos was too smart for that. Ranger imagined that the eldest son, Hannibal, had suffered his father's wrath for the blunder in addition to the jail time he was still serving.

There was a hint of mutual respect between them for the power and resources each man had. Neither of them would be anxious to challenge the advantage of one over the other. This meeting was going to be an interesting litmus test for their ability to negotiate successfully.

"Follow me, please."

Ranger was led through the entryway and past a large formal living room. The house was quite modern, with clean sharp lines in the furniture. The pervasive colors of the room were a blend of deep pinks and lighter greens. Despite the dreary day, large windows allowed the entire space to be flooded in light. They walked down a short hallway to, what was in stark contrast, a very masculine study. Massive pieces of overstuffed, burgundy, leather furniture created a comfortable sitting area in front of a fireplace framed with a wide mahogany mantle.

The butler invited him to make himself comfortable and shut the door as he left. Ranger continued his inspection of the room. On either side of the fireplace were floor to ceiling mahogany bookshelves filled with richly bound books and expensive collectibles. On the far side of the room, a large ornate desk was situated at an angle to give the occupant a clear survey of the space he mastered. Windows to the left of it, overlooked the ocean, but large heavy drapes cut off most of the view and the natural light. To the right, thickly paneled walls held gilt-framed photos of, who appeared to be, Alexander Ramos amiably posed with an assortment of famous people. From what Ranger could make out, they ranged from politicians to actors. There were no pictures of his three sons.

Ranger knew that his isolation and holding pattern was part of a carefully orchestrated game. He would be left here an appropriate amount of time in order for him to absorb the intimidating opulence of the room, which reflected the far-reaching power of the man that owned it. The goal of making Ranger feel inferior and at a disadvantage was laughable. Alexander Ramos most likely already knew that; but he played the game nonetheless. It was how business was done. Ranger dropped the box of black-market cigars on the desk and took up a relaxed position, leaning against one of the less decorated walls with his arms crossed over his chest. He waited. He knew he was being watched, and he gave nothing away with his blank face and casual stance.

Alexander Ramos entered the study with a, surpisingly, overbearing smile and a naturally gregarious attitude. He was a different man from the last time Ranger had seen him. Granted that had been mostly from the distance his surveillance had required. But this man was sharply dressed in a finely tailored, double-breasted suit, and his demeanor was more of a man in control of his life than that of the, allegedly, confused man who had needed to sneak out of the house and hitch rides with strangers in order to escape the 'babysitters' his son had imposed on him.

"Carlos Manoso!" He exclaimed in his booming, heavily accented voice. "It is a great pleasure to finally meet the man." He approached Ranger with a friendly hand extended. The handshake was strong and firm.

A serious-faced, younger man, who silently took up a threatening stance by the door, had followed Ramos into the room.

"Thank you for seeing me." Ranger carefully avoided the title war by not addressing him by name. "I've brought you a gift." He nodded toward the desk. "My second in command informed me they were your favorite."

"Excellent." Ramos strolled over to the desk and took a seat in his chair gesturing to Ranger to take the one on the other side. He picked up the box, lifted the lid and took a strong whiff of its illegal contents. "Ahhhh…Cuban Cohibas. Your extravagant gift is much appreciated." He removed one and offered the box to Ranger who declined with a shake of his head. Ramos meticulously went through the process of clipping the tip and lighting it up by taking a series of short puffs to ignite the tobacco. His face exhibited pure pleasure as he sat back in his chair and inhaled the smoke. "A man's home is his castle. Would you not agree Carlos?"

Ranger nodded but did not move from his position against the wall. He silently remained standing, keeping his head above Ramos', challenging the power play.

"In Greece we live life for its pleasures. Here in this country, everyone is on a diet. No one is allowed to smoke anywhere. My favorite restaurant on the beach is even…how you say…smoke free." He shook his head in disappointment. "But here in my castle, I eat pastitsio and tiropites, and I can smoke to my heart's content. I don't even have a wife anymore to nag me about the dangers to my health or the smell stinking up the house."

Still no response from the stoic man in black.

Ramos was getting a little irritated at Ranger's obvious refusal to participate in small talk. He changed his relaxed posture in his chair to a more formal straight-spined slant over the desk.

"What is it that you want, Carlos? What brings the great Manoso to me?"

"I need information." He shifted his weight slightly, indicating he was ready to get down to business.

"You think I can give you this information you are looking for?"

"Possibly."

Alexander stood from his desk and turned toward the window. "I know a lot about you, Carlos. As I am sure you know a lot about me. We both have our reputations and our…resources. I can think of only two reasons as to why you would be willing to risk coming here." He looked over his shoulder at Ranger. "And we both know it _was _a risk." He returned his focus to the world outside the window. "The information you need must be significant to the welfare of either yourself…or someone very close to you." Ramos moved to a small bar near the center of the room. He poured two glasses of a rich golden liquid from a cut glass decanter and offered one to Ranger. Ranger declined wordlessly once again. "You do not strike me as a man so concerned about his own mortality, so I have to assume the information you seek from me is about someone else."

Ranger's nod was almost imperceptible.

"A woman?"

Ranger didn't respond.

"Stephanie Plum, possibly?"

Ranger widened his eyes slightly. He stood from his place against the wall. "What do you know?"

"I know about your persistent inquiries. Word has made its way around. I also know about your involvement…and hers…in the Bilotti family's…trouble." Ramos clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Dominic was not happy about that. Unfortunately, he is burdened with the same affliction that I also face."

"Stephanie was working for me in both of those situations. If you have a problem with her involvement...you deal directly with me." Ranger's words were sharply spoken, and there was a palpable threat in his tone.

"Carlos, Carlos, relax. Our problem isn't Stephanie." He waved a hand toward the fireplace. "Come sit down." When Ranger didn't move, he waved him off. "You're too uptight, you need to drink, have a smoke, lighten up a little!" He took his own seat in one of the upholstered chairs. "No, your Miss Plum is not our problem. Quite to the contrary, I'm rather fond of her. She's got spunk. I like that in a woman." He flicked his cigar into an ashtray located next to the chair. "Did she tell you that I asked her to marry me?"

Ranger shook his head and moved toward the couch. He didn't expect the conversation to go this way.

"No? Well, at least she was kind enough to humor this old man," he warmly chuckled.

"She's a good woman." Ranger's tone was even and sure.

Ramos nodded in agreement. "If I'd married her instead of the last three wives, she would have kept my sons in line, and I wouldn't be living in this god-awful pink house."

Ranger actually smiled at the image of Stephanie married to the mob. "Homer might not have appreciated your choice of wife and step-mother."

"Homer is a malakas!" Alexandar snapped out. "A foolish idiot! That is our real problem, Carlos. Family. Those lazy sons of mine! You build a business, reach a certain age, and expect your sons to take over. What do I get? A mess is what I get!" He downed the rest of his drink and his face crinkled in disgust. "Aghhh, Bilotti. He has the same problem. That nephew of his…crazy…out of control!" Alexander got up and poured himself another drink and looked at Ranger. "Maybe I drink too much, hmm? Do you blame me?"

"I need to know what Bilotti has planned."

"Planned? He plans to do the same thing as me. He plans to leave that son of a bitch locked up where he can't hurt anyone again. Family loyalty can only go so far." He swallowed the rest of his second drink. "I should have had a son like you, Carlos. We may walk on different sides of the same line most of the time, but you and I are not so different. You are a strong man. A smart man. You know what you want, and you get it. And you protect what is yours."

"That's why I'm here."

"You think Bilotti is planning some kind of revenge against your Stephanie?"

"Maybe him, maybe you."

"Me? No, no, no, Carlos, you don't have to worry about me. Stephanie suffered enough for what Homer and Hannibal did to you. Homer shot her for God's sake! If anything, I owe her a favor. She helped me in more ways than one. And Bilotti? He is too embarrassed by the whole mess. He can't wait to tuck Victor away in some mental hospital and forget he even exists." Alexander looked directly into Ranger's eyes. "What has you so concerned? Has there been trouble?"

"Just some noise."

"Noise?" Alexander grunted. "If the noise gets louder, you call me, Carlos. I am a man of my word. I owe her. If Stephanie is in trouble…"

Ranger readied himself to leave. "Like I said, it's just noise."

He walked Ranger to the door and patted him on the back. "Take care of our girl, Carlos. And bring her by sometime. I'd like to see her again. Does she still have that wonderful car?"

Ranger nodded. "It's still around."

"Of course it is, my friend. That car will outlast us all."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie's meeting with Jack was going well. She shared what happened at her parent's house. Jack laughed at her mother's plan to get her and Carlos to talk about marriage, and said he would like to meet her one day. She also gave him a quick update on her reunion with the girls at the bond's office.

"How did you feel about being there?"

"It was…easy. Like I'd never been gone. Connie and Lula are good friends who take me as I come; damaged, poor, covered in garbage, stalkers and all."

"Do you really still see yourself as damaged?"

"All of those things I listed, and you think me being damaged is the worst of it?"

"Well, I can't really do much about the state of your bank account. The garbage? I wouldn't even know where to begin with that," he shrugged. "And from what I understand, having stalkers is pretty much out of your control; although, I do have a theory about why you attract them.

"You do?" Stephanie's eyes widened in curiosity.

"Another time," he continued, determined to be undeterred by the queen of distraction. "But if you see yourself as damaged…that's something I can work with."

"You don't think I'm damaged?" Her eyes were wide with surprise.

"That's the question I asked you. You're avoiding again."

"Okay, yes! I still see myself as damaged," she admitted. "I still have my injuries. My wrist _still _hurts like hell sometimes. I haven't had a headache in a while, but there's _still_ a lot of bruising there."

"Is that _all _you meant be calling yourself damaged?" Jack looked skeptical.

Stephanie sighed heavily. "Geez, you're annoying! What? Does RangeMan pay you by the question?"

"What I'm paid is irrelevant, Stephanie. Answer the question," he persisted.

She hesitated for a few moments and then admitted, "I'm not back yet."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm here in Trenton, but things aren't normal yet. I thought when I got back to Trenton, things would get better."

"I don't understand, you just told me how well the visits went with your mother and at the bonds office."

"That's not what I mean."

"What's not better?"

"Me, inside. The way I feel. I want to be strong like I used to be."

"What happened to make you question your strength?"

"This morning Carlos left for work and I was here all alone. After a few minutes, I felt edgy, off center, and anxious. The feelings got stronger the longer I was there, and I couldn't focus. I was in a near panic to get downstairs to Carlos so I'd feel safe. Nothing dangerous has ever happened to me in this building before. In fact, this is where I would come to _be_ safe. That feeling of security was gone this morning. I know it's an irrational fear, but I couldn't control it. I couldn't get a handle on it." Stephanie was getting worked up just talking about the experience. "I don't want to be scared of my own shadow when I'm by myself. I used to live alone, and I liked it, and then this morning…" She stood up and walked to the kitchen for a bottle of water. She brought one back for Jack as well. "I haven't been alone much since I was in the hospital. You know I was always surrounded by at least one or two men at the house in Philadelphia, and Carlos was almost always there, too."

"Stephanie, It's understandable that you would feel uncomfortable being alone after the kind of existence you've been required to sustain. Do you think that not having enough control over your own life right now might contribute to this fear as well? You talked about that before. Remember?"

"Yes, I remember. I don't know, Jack, I guess it could. Carlos has tried very hard to give me choices, but, with the security risk I live under, my options are so limited. The only time I feel normal is when I'm with Carlos. I was actually looking forward to being alone here. If I leave this building someone is always with me and I 'm watched closely. Every move I make is analyzed for security purposes. I wanted some freedom in this apartment." Stephanie sat down let out a heavy sigh. "Did you know he's leaving? I'll be alone here a lot more. I don't know how well I'm going to handle it."

"Hector told me. He's worried about you."

Stephanie smiled. "Hector is a good man. He is the brother I never had. He takes very good care of me, and he worries too much."

"He loves you."

"I love him too." She said with true affection.

"Do you feel safe with him?"

"Of course I do. Hector's been there for me more than once."

"What about Lester."

"Lester's one of my best friends. You know what he did for me in the hospital."

"So Carlos is going away for a couple of weeks, and you're being left here with a man you love as a brother, another man who you consider to be one of your best friends, and two women at the bond's office that accept you with no strings attached. Sounds like a pretty full dance card."

"Your point?"

"Stephanie, do you trust Hector and Lester?"

"Yes."

"Enough to share your fears with them?"

"I…I…I don't know. It's hard enough sharing them with Carlos."

"Look, Steph, I know we've talked about _why_ you have trust issues with men. It's not just about the infidelity of a lover or husband. It's about support and respect for you as a person. Right now you're being handed a golden opportunity to do something about resolving some of those issues. You can use the occasion, of Carlos' absence, to give these two men the chance to prove to you that they can be trusted to support and respect you, by sharing your fears with them, and letting them help you through this."

"That's a lot to ask of somebody isn't it?"

"Would you do it for them?"

"In a heartbeat."

"I think you have your answer."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Ella's dinner was wonderful. It might have even been better two hours prior; but by the time Ranger and Stephanie made it to the kitchen, which was probably the only room in which they didn't have sex, they were left with the choice of warming the chicken cordon bleu and rice dish in the microwave, or foregoing that in favor of take-out delivery. In the interest of time and not wanting any interruptions, they chose the former and were now sitting side by side at the, freshly cleaned, dining room table sharing Ella's meal.

"How did your meeting go today? New client?"

"No." Ranger took another bite of food to give himself time to prepare for the conversation. "My meeting today was with Alexander Ramos."

Stephanie's head snapped up sharply. She knew the name but it took a few seconds to put it in context with a memory. Ranger could see her eyes shifting back and forth as she discerned the information. Finally she spoke. "Did you see him at the house in Deal?"

"Yes."

"Is there a problem with Homer or Hannibal? Aren't they both in jail? Is this something to do with me?"

"They are both still in jail. And yes, my meeting had everything to do with you."

"Why on earth would you need to see Alexander Ramos about me? That whole situation is over. Done with."

Ranger smiled. "Babe, did he really ask you to marry him?"

Stephanie looked confused. "Marry him? I don't…" She continued to go over the events in her mind. "Oh, god, Carlos, I know he's a bit eccentric, but he seriously doesn't think that I…I mean he's not thinking…we're engaged or something is he?"

"Relax, Babe. It's nothing like that. He just has very fond memories of you."

"Oh." She sounded relieved. "Then why did you meet with him?"

"I wanted to know if he had information about Bilotti having any plans to come after you for revenge."

"What did he say?"

"Well, besides the fact that he would like you to visit him," Ranger gave up another rare smile, "he said that he was sure Bilotti didn't have any designs on revenge. He said that Dominic Bilotti is embarrassed by what took place and is eager to put it behind him and out of public display."

"Do you believe him?"

"He sounded and acted sincere. I believe him, but I have to keep in mind that he may not have all the information."

"So what does this mean for my 'security measures'?"

Ranger knew this wasn't going to go over well. He stood up from the table, took Stephanie's hand and led her to the couch. He pulled her down into his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. "While I'm gone, I would really like it if you would stay fully secured by my men. You can go wherever you like, but always with one of the men."

Stephanie started to interrupt, in what he assumed would be a protest, but he put a finger on her lips to halt her words.

"I met with the team this morning. You can work in my office while I'm gone, and Tank will put you on some surveillance rotations like you requested. When I return from DC, if there has been no new intel, no incidents, no threats…we'll sit down and review how to proceed from there. You'll be completely involved in the process."

He removed his finger and Stephanie made a slight inhale of breath as if preparing to speak and then let it out wordlessly. She waited a few moments and then responded. "I'm okay with that. It's fair and reasonable, and I know how you would worry while you're gone if you didn't know I was safe."

Ranger let out a sigh of relief. "Babe, you don't know how good those words sound to me. I expected you to be upset."

"I am upset. I don't like it at all. But it's not your fault. It's just how things have to be for now." She took a few moments to gather her thoughts. "Speaking of how things are right now, I have to tell you about a discussion I had with Jack earlier."

Stephanie proceeded to tell Ranger all about the new fear she discovered this morning, and how Jack was encouraging her to lean on Lester and Hector while he was gone.

"Babe, you know you could have called me? If you were feeling that way this morning, I would have come back up here to be with you. I hate to think that you felt so vulnerable in the building."

"Carlos, you and a dozen armed men were two floors below me. It was an irrational fear. I have to learn to deal with those."

"Okay, but what about at night, while I'm gone? You can't afford to lose a lot of sleep by sitting up in a panic over being alone. Your recovery is far from over. You need to sleep at night."

"That's why I want to talk to you. Jack had the same concern. He says it's good for me to work on facing the fear alone, but there's a point where it can become detrimental to the process. He thought I might need someone to be with me here at night for a while, if it gets bad."

"Okay."

"It would mean that either Lester or Hector would be in the apartment with me…all night. You, Jack and I would know why they were here, but I'm afraid of the gossip…you know…the cameras catching it? At the same time, I really don't want to broadcast to the entire company that I'm…crazy, by letting them know the truth about why those guys are up here."

"First of all, you're not crazy, Babe. And second, don't worry about what the men think. I'll have Tank write the posted assignments to reflect the personal guard you're receiving in the apartment at night…and it will always be Hector or Lester if that's who you're comfortable with. That way the guys will know, that_ I_ know, a man is posted up here. They won't think twice about the extra security. They are already well aware of the fact that we're concerned about a possible threat."

Ranger felt Stephanie physically relax. "You always have the answers. Do you ever get tired of being perfect?"

"I'm far from perfect, amada. I make mistakes all the time." He lifted her off his lap and stood. "Now, let's go clean up from dinner. If you have any other important things to discuss, you better do it now, because I leave in less than twelve hours, and I plan to use at least eight of them showing you how much I'll miss you.

"Sounds like a great plan, Batman. While we're in the kitchen we need to talk about Adria's request to meet with me for her book. Bobby says she very enthusiastic and anxious to get started. I figured you would have some concerns about the information I might share."

"I've given that some thought. Before Bobby worked with Adria on the Giordano job, we ran a complete background check on her. She checked out clean and doesn't present a security risk to being in the building. We also have no reason to doubt her word that she will only print what we're comfortable with. I spoke with Hector and he's going to set up one of the conference rooms for your interviews. Everything you discuss with her will be recorded. We'll even give her a copy of the tape for her personal use. This will give Tank and I the opportunity to scan the content for things we would rather not have made available for public consumption. Bobby has assured me that if we veto anything, Adria will abide by our decision."

"So everything's a go?"

Ranger nodded. "Bobby will handle all the details for you."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie fought sleep. It was nearly three-thirty in the morning and she didn't want to waste a minute of her time left with Ranger in slumber. They had felicitously begun the evening by employing several creative, if not unorthodox, ways of expressing joy in each others existence. The air was filled with light-hearted laughter, demanding carnal tangos, and dirty talk. As the night progressed, the unorthodox mellowed into the traditional, the jocular playfulness quieted to heady moans of passion, the feral dance slowed to an almost spiritual, sensuous rhythm of their merged bodies, and their brazen words softened to tender professions of love and affection, in response to their trepidation of the impending separation. They were now left lying in a near stupor, exhausted in its aftermath. Stephanie was firmly snuggled against Ranger's side and was using her right hand to create a mental map of his magnificent chest. Ranger's hand ran like a roller coaster down her side and over her hip to her knee and back again, repeatedly, with a touch heavy enough not to tickle, but light enough to soothe. The light in the room was subdued. The ethereal glow from the full moon gave the bed enough illumination for the lovers to share ardent looks of devotion. For a long time they lay there; each one lost in their own thoughts.

Stephanie eventually broke the silence with a long drawn out sigh and a kiss to Ranger's shoulder. "What am I going to do without you?"

"I've asked Ella to load the kitchen up with extra sweets, and Luis is going to install a new shower massage in the bathroom tomorrow. I also asked Hector to run over to your apartment and pick up your Lady Workhorse." He jokingly scanned the room. "It's in a bag around here somewhere." Seeing the opened mouth shock on Stephanie's face he quickly added, "don't worry he was very discreet." She shook her head in dismay. "And if all of that fails, there's always phone sex."

She playfully slapped him on the chest. "Very funny. Am I that bad?"

"No, you're that good." He rolled on top of her effectively pinning her entire body to the bed.

"I do need you for more than sex, you know?" She wiggled against his groin in illustration.

"Name three."

"Three what?"

"Reasons…you need me."

Stephanie got a mischievous look on her face. "Well, there's the money, for one. You seem to have lots of it. And then there's Ella. She's a real bonus for being with you. That's two." She rolled her eyes to her forehead, straining to think. "Oh, and three…you're one hell of a kisser."

He put his hands under her shoulder blades, lifted her and growled as he pulled her close. "You think so?" He closed the final inches of their separation and gave her a demonstration for her reconsideration.

"Oh yeah, I definitely need the kissing." She pulled him in for another playful kiss but, part way through, it transformed into something more intimate and serious. When she leaned away from it, she looked earnestly into his eyes. "Carlos, what you mean to me…what I need you for…is almost too essential and elusive for words. You believe in me. You trust me…and you make my soul fly. When you're not with me, I feel like a part of me is missing."

Somewhere between the late hours of the night and the wee hours of the morning, Stephanie lost the battle and drifted off in Carlos' arms.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	7. Chapter 7

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

Author's note: At almost 7000 words, this is a long chapter. A lot will happen. Stick with me. Now that Ranger is gone, Steph is going to spend some quality time with her Merry Men! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 7

Ranger left early the next morning. As soon as she was able to pull herself out of bed, Stephanie quickly showered, dressed, and dropped a few blueberries into Rex's cage, staying one step ahead of the mounting panic as she rushed down to the fifth floor. She grabbed a coffee and a couple of granola bars from the break room, and finally slowed to a stroll as she said her good mornings to all the guys on shift. When she entered Ranger's office, a large vase of stunningly brilliant roses welcomed her. Stephanie immediately located the card tucked inside:

_They told me orange means - desire._

_I doubt these are orange enough._

_I miss you already. _

_Carlos_

_PS: enjoy the doughnuts!_

Their magnificent scent filled the room, but she still couldn't help burying her face deep into the petals. It made her feel closer to Ranger. She replaced the card and scanned the room. Sure enough, sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch was a box from the Tasty Pastry. Tears threatened. So, in a manner that would do her Jersey Girl birthright proud, she sat on the couch and engaged in a private pity party by staring at her beautiful flowers and downing three Boston Crèmes, while the tears fell.

When she managed to suppress most of her melancholy feelings, with the help of the chocolate-topped, cream-filled confections, she looked past the flowers. Tank had obviously taken his assignment to heart and planned a very active schedule for her. His attempts to keep Stephanie so busy that she wouldn't have time to miss her man were appreciated but appeared exhausting. A stack of searches, a foot high, sat teetering at the center of the desk. She let out a heavy sigh and got to work. It took her all of five minutes to reacquaint herself with the computer search programs that she had mastered in the last year and a half. Four hours later, most of the files were in the completed pile. Between the sugar-induced coma she was fighting, and the lack of sleep the night before, she felt an overwhelming need for a nap. Avoiding solitary downtime in the apartment was foremost in her mind, so she lay on Ranger's couch and slept.

At seven-thirty there was a knock at the door that dragged her back to consciousness.

"Come in."

"Hey, Bomber," Hal timidly addressed her.

Stephanie acknowledged his hesitancy. "It's okay, Hal. Come on in. I was just taking a nap. What's up?"

"You're on the schedule to work surveillance with me this evening. Our shift starts at eight. I thought maybe you would need a few minutes to get dressed."

"I'm ready whenever you are. I'm already dressed." She pointed out her black pants and long-sleeved RangeMan Polo shirt. "I just need to put my shoes back on and grab my coat." She leaned over to the floor and lined up her shoes in front of her feet.

Hal smiled at her misunderstanding. "No, I can see that you're dressed. I mean you might need to get _dressed._" He held up a gun and shoulder holster. "I was pretty sure you haven't carried since the…well, in a while anyway. And I wasn't sure you had your gun here, so I brought this for you." He pulled the weapon from its holster. "It's similar to the one you own, but I think it's a better fit for your smaller hands." He blushed at his own reference to her personal features, as if it were inappropriate.

Stephanie was always amused by the ease in which Hal could become embarrassed around her. Lester had joked once, that Hal wouldn't know what to do with a girl, if one fell into his lap. In all the times the guys had gone out trolling at the bars and clubs together, Hal had never been able to get up enough nerve to ask a girl to dance, let alone go out on a date. "You don't have any sisters, do you, Hal?"

"No, mam. It was just me, my three brothers, and my dad growing up."

"What about your mother?"

"She took off when I was a kid. Dad said she couldn't take it. He said us boys were just too much for her."

"I'm sorry. Did you have any aunts or a grandmother around? Did your father ever remarry?"

"No, mam. Just us boys and my dad."

"When did you join the army?"

Hal smiled with great pride in his answer. "The day after high school graduation, I went off to boot camp."

"And from the army, you came directly here to work for Ranger?" Having tied her shoes, she stood up from the couch.

"Yes, mam." He nodded and handed her the shoulder harness.

Stephanie was rested, and she was in a playful mood after the nap, so she decided to have a little fun at Hal's expense. "Hal, thanks for bringing me the gun. Could you help me put the harness on? I'm not sure how this one works." She feigned incompetence and turned her back to him. She lifted her hair off her neck with her right hand and extended her left arm for him to slide the harness up.

Hal held up the belt but hesitated when he couldn't figure out how to put it on her without actually touching her. His face became quite red as his situation became increasingly dire. He gingerly slid the harness up her left arm and laid it across her shoulder. He then lifted the other strap, and Stephanie shifted her hair to her left hand so he could slide the other side of the harness up her right arm and secure it to her shoulder. By the time he was finished, poor Hal looked about ready to pass out.

Their surveillance of an apartment complex on the south side of Trenton was uneventful. Hal handed her a photo and a description of a car, and told her they were looking for the appearance of Thomas Resnick. Following him was considered key to helping RangeMan get a location on his brother John. John Resnick was FTA on charges of attempted armed robbery. The hope was that Thomas would lead them to John. The apartment they were watching belonged to Thomas's fiancée Trisha Burns.

It was a long night, and Thomas was a no show, but, unfortunately, Hal's music was not. They spent the entire evening listening to his favorite station playing endless country ballads that lamented, ad nauseum, about 'the cruel world of heartbreak', 'old dogs' and 'loose women that done him wrong'. By the end of the shift, Stephanie was ready to shoot the radio. She was pretty sure that the words to country music songs had provided the total sum of all Hal's education about women.

When Stephanie returned to the apartment shortly after midnight, Hector was there waiting. Not much needed to be said. Jack had already spoken to both him and Lester about her new problem. She and Hector sat at the kitchen counter and shared a couple of beers. Stephanie jokingly relayed the events of the night, gave him a kiss on the cheek and trudged off to bed. Three times before dawn, Stephanie woke in near paralyzing fear. She got up, walked to the living room to see Hector asleep on the couch, and returned to bed assured that she wasn't alone.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

The next day started similarly to the first. Stephanie began her searches in the late morning, had a session with Jack in the afternoon and did the four to eight surveillance shift with Hal. Different location, same suspect…same music. When she returned to the apartment, she hadn't been home more than five minutes before Hector appeared at her door.

Stephanie looked surprised. "I wasn't expecting you tonight. I thought Lester was coming up."

"I just come here to give you something, Bonita." Hector handed her a small box.

"What is it?"

"Open it."

The sequence of events was vaguely reminiscent of when he gave her the photo album, and Stephanie was intrigued as she opened the box. Inside was an mp3 player. It was pink.

"This is an iPod!"

"Si." Hector took if from her hands, carefully inserted the buds into her ears and pushed a button. "You hear?"

Stephanie nodded enthusiastically. As she listened to the first song begin, her expression changed to one of complete astonishment. "Is that me?"

Hector smiled brilliantly at her reaction. "Si."

"I can't believe you did this. Hector this is so incredible! Is this from the Cabaret?"

"Si, you have a beautiful voice. Better than country. No old dogs."

"Oh my god, Hector." She hugged him. "Thank you. I've never had one of these before. I can add more music, right?"

"I must go now, but tomorrow I show you how to use the computer to download songs." He answered the unasked question on Stephanie's face. "I have a date."

"With Jack?"

Hector nodded, and the most adorable smile appeared on his face.

"You two seem to have become quite close."

"I guess." He looked down at the floor shyly.

"Jack will be leaving in a couple of weeks won't he?"

He nodded again. "He has to go back."

"How do you feel about that?"

Hector burst out into laughter. "Oh, Bonita, you have spent too much time with him. That is his question."

Stephanie laughed as she thought about what she had just said. "I guess you're right. I am starting to sound like him, but that's not a bad thing is it? He's a smart man. He's helped me a lot. I don't know what I'll do without him."

"I have the same problem," Hector sadly admitted.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie spoke with Ranger on a daily basis. Every morning he called, and they spent a few cherished minutes touching base about the little things in their day and bemoaning their separation. Every night he called to hear her voice before going to sleep.

Four days into his absence she got a call from Ranger in the middle of the day.

"What's up Batman?"

"Hey, Babe. How did your appointment with Mr. Alexander go this morning?"

"Great! I'm one step closer to the old me. Megan went with me, and we splurged and had our nails done while we were there too."

"I spoke with Rachel earlier. Julie is going to come to Trenton for Thanksgiving."

"That's wonderful! I can't wait to see her."

"Yeah, the last time she was there…"

"Scrog." The name alone, as it sourly rolled off Stephanie's tongue, was enough to end that train of thought. "We'll have to make this trip very special. When will she get here?"

"I'm sending the jet for her. I'm not too crazy about having her alone on the plane, but Phil will take care of her. She'll fly out the day before Thanksgiving, after school. She has to go back by Saturday night."

"Where will she stay? You don't have a second bedroom in the apartment."

"She can sleep on the couch. It's just for three nights."

"Carlos, you can't have a pre-teen girl sleep on the couch. She'll need privacy. She's at an awkward age for girls. They get picky about things like personal hygiene, and who sees them in their pajamas and underwear."

"I could put her in an apartment on four. Jack will be gone by then."

"You can't put her in an apartment on a floor full of men! What would Rachel say?"

"I'm out of ideas, Babe. What do you suggest?"

"How about we spend the weekend at the house in Philadelphia? I can go there with Ella and get it ready. Julie can have her own bedroom there. Unless...would that put you too far from RangeMan after being gone so long?"

"We typically run a skeleton crew on Thanksgiving. Some of the men take off to visit family. The men that have no place to go usually volunteer to hold down the fort. Using the house in Philly is a good idea, Babe."

"Great! I'll talk to Ella today!"

Stephanie hung up, and the wheels started turning. The longer she thought, the bigger her ideas grew. She called her mother, then she tracked down Ella and, finally, she called Ranger back.

"Babe?"

"I have an idea. If you don't like it just tell me, and we'll do something else."

"Does this involve sex?"

"No, but I could probably fix that." She smiled into the phone. "It was definitely an oversight in my planning."

"Sounds promising. What's your plan?"

I was thinking that since the house in Philly is so big, and it would only be the three of us…I thought we could invite a few more people to dinner on Thanksgiving."

"Who?"

"Maybe, Tank, Bobby, Lester, and the girls. Any of the other guys not on shift that have no place to go, and I was even thinking that we could invite Tony and Emily from Miami. We know they don't have any other family, and they can fly up with Julie, and then she wouldn't have to travel alone. I thought of your parents, but I don't know them very well, and I didn't even know if you wanted to invite them, and I know you're thinking who's going to cook, right? Well, I already talked to my mother, and she said that she would be happy to cook most of the food, and that would mean my parents, grandma, my sister and her kids would be there, and the girls would have so much fun together. You know? Because Julie would probably get bored with just us, and Ella said that she and Luis are leaving town to visit their daughter in New York, but she would make some desserts and a couple of other dishes to help out." The longer Stephanie spoke, the faster the words came out.

"Babe?"

"What?"

"Breathe."

"Okay."

"Stephanie?"

"Yes."

"It's a great idea."

"It is?"

"Yeah."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie continued to increase her daily workload. When she ran out of searches, she helped Tank by going over invoices or by doing other office type work that was similar to what she had done in her job as a lingerie buyer for E.E. Martin. When she wasn't planning Julie's arrival and the Thanksgiving party with her mother and Ella…or working in the office…or doing surveillance...or napping, she was in the gym working on the skills she wanted to improve with Hector, Lester, or, occasionally, Tank. She had even met twice with Adria. At their first meeting, Adria asked Stephanie a lot of questions about her past; her marriage to Dickie Orr and how she had dealt with being on her own after the divorce. She also wanted to know about her start as a bounty hunter. At their second meeting, Adria wanted much more detail about the Giordano case and her time in Miami.

It was Thursday, and Ranger had now been gone seven days. He was scheduled to return next Tuesday. Stephanie knew this because she had a giant red circle around the date on the desk calendar that she looked at every five minutes. She had circled the date so many times in anxious anticipation that the red marker had bled through the paper and marred the December dates underneath. She was only slightly obsessive about his return.

Stephanie was currently waiting for her latest lengthy report to print, her iPod blasting Kelly Clarkson's 'Already Gone'. She was sitting back in Ranger's chair with her eyes closed singing along.

"Remember all the things we wanted

Now all our memories, they're haunted

We were always meant to say goodbye…"

Lester lightly knocked on the door and opened it. "Hey, Beautiful..." When he heard her voice and realized she didn't know he was there, he stood stock still and listened to her sing. He loved her voice, and he hadn't heard it since before the accident.

"And I want you to know

You couldn't have loved me better

But I want you to move on

So I'm already gone"

With the door now open, the sound filtered into the hall and caught the attention of a number of men on the floor. They slowly gathered at the doorway, all smiles, as they continued to listen.

"Looking at you makes it harder

But I know that you'll find another

That doesn't always make you wanna cry

It started with the perfect kiss then….."

Stephanie swung the chair toward the printer behind her to check the status of her print job, and her voice became slightly muted.

"You know that I love you so

I love you enough to let you go"

She gathered the completed report out of the printer tray and turned back toward the desk. Her eyes widened, and her face flushed in embarrassment when she saw the crowd gathered at the door. She quickly reached for the control and turned down the volume.

"Geez, you guys, make some noise why don't you next time." They all clapped appreciatively at her performance and scattered back to their desks.

"It was good to hear you sing again." Lester grinned. "I've got a free hour, Beautiful. Care to meet me on the mats?"

Stephanie looked down at the work she still had left. "Sure, Les. There's nothing here that can't wait till later."

Stephanie ran up to the apartment and changed into her usual workout clothes. Ten minutes later she was facing Lester in the gym. Bobby had been very specific about the kind of maneuvers that were safe for her wrist. If she needed to use her left hand to practice or complete a demonstration, it was done in slow motion and movement stopped before contact was made. Lester's goal was to give her some self-defense moves that were a little more complicated and detailed than he would give in a standard self-defense class for women.

"Beautiful, you've developed your own unique style of self-defense over the last three years, and we're going to have to erase some bad habits. You've actually become pretty good at getting free from being restrained in a standing position. Now I'd like you to work on getting loose from a prone position." Lester asked her to lie on the mat face down. "Typically if a suspect gets you down. they're going to put your face to the ground and try to restrain your hands behind your back." He gently pulled both her hands behind her back and tugged till she could feel the strain.

"Been here, done this," Stephanie grunted at the familiar hold. "How do I get out of it?"

"Well, the best solution is to thrust your elbow back into his gut, throat, or groin, before your hands are restrained. The key is to react quickly and catch him off guard. The bad guy is counting on you being weaker and panicked. You can pack a powerful punch with your elbow if it hits the right target on an unsuspecting attacker. The only way you're going to get quicker is to practice the move until it becomes instinct."

"Okay, let's practice!"

Lester knocked her down repeatedly. When she was beginning to get the hang of the technique, he increased the pressure and speed of the attack until, finally, he was just too quick for her, and he had her pinned completely to the mat every time.

Stephanie was getting tired and cranky from the physical exertion, and her repeated failure to win. Lester pushed his luck with one more attack, and she screamed at him from her position against the floor. "Damn it, Lester! I swear to God, if I die doing this, I _will_ come back to haunt you!"

Lester released her from his hold, chuckling at her agitation. "Okay, that's about all for today, Beautiful." He was just a bit too chipper and cocky for Stephanie's liking. She gave him a very pissed off look and huffed out of the gym.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Through the success of her sessions with Jack, and the support of her Merry Men, Stephanie reached a point where she was able to reign in her fear of being alone in the apartment, for short periods of time, during the day. The nights, however, were still rough. A week into Ranger's absence, she stubbornly attempted to stay in the apartment, unaccompanied, for the first time. She made it to two o'clock in the morning before she had become so distressed that she developed one of the terrible headaches that she had believed to be a thing of the past. She managed to make a call to Lester before the excruciating throbbing incapacitated her. Three minutes later he arrived with Bobby, Jack and Hector. She was in too much pain to be overwhelmed by their response and was just grateful that when Bobby injected her with her medication, it worked quickly. She was finally able to sleep.

When she awoke the next morning Lester was asleep in the chair next to her bed. It was just like every time she woke up in the hospital. She quietly got up, used the bathroom and padded into the kitchen. Hector and Jack were asleep together on the couch in the living room. Their concern for her nearly brought tears to her eyes, but she pushed them away. The last thing she needed to do right now was cry. The emotion that would follow could easily bring the headache back. She busied herself with the task of making coffee.

"Stephanie?"

"I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to wake you. I was just putting on some coffee."

"Don't worry about it. We needed to get up anyway. Hector's working a split shift today. How do you feel this morning?" Despite his disheveled look from sleeping on the couch, he still carried quite a professional air about him. "I hadn't witnessed any of your headaches before. Was that one typical?"

"Well, it's been a while, but yes, that one was pretty typical. I feel much better now. Just a little bit of a hangover, so to speak." She pulled several coffee cups out of the cupboard. "You guys didn't have to stay here all night. The medicine Bobby gives me puts me out and then I'm fine again."

Jack looked back toward Hector. "He was concerned. We both were…but it's physically painful for him to see you hurting. His compassion runs very deep."

Stephanie nodded in understanding. She knew this about Hector. "I hope he got enough sleep for his early shift."

"He'll be fine. He can catch a nap in between his shifts. If we had gone back downstairs, he would have just worried. He probably slept better here."

"Hector really cares about you, Jack. I can see it in his face when he talks about you."

"I've never met anyone like Hector before. On the outside he's strong and tough as nails. I imagine he can generate quite a bit of fear when he's engaged with an opponent."

Stephanie eagerly nodded. "I've seen it first hand. You wouldn't want to come across him in a dark alley, and you don't want to be his enemy." She poured coffee into two mugs and handed one to Jack.

"But on the inside… When it's just the two of us, he's…he's gentle and amazingly intuitive with people's moods and vulnerabilities." Jack had drifted off with his thoughts as he stared at Hector, who was still sleeping peacefully. He caught himself and turned back to Stephanie looking a bit abashed. "I'm sorry. I hope I haven't made you uncomfortable."

"Not at all." She smiled at him reassuringly. "It's nice to see you two together. I like seeing Hector happy."

"It's not that we're hiding our relationship. If we were, we wouldn't have stayed here last night. It's just that most people, even those who profess to have an open mind, aren't always ready to witness this type of relationship up close and personal. Hector told me that most of the men here know about his sexual orientation, and he doesn't feel disrespect or contempt from any of them. He wants to maintain his privacy though."

Lester stumbled out of the bedroom and made his way into the kitchen. He kissed Stephanie on the top of her head. "You look a lot better this morning."

"I'm fine. You didn't have to stay all night. That chair couldn't have been very comfortable."

"I kinda missed our routine, Beautiful. It felt like old times." He looked at Jack and then past him into the living room. "Besides, this is obviously where the party was." He winked at her. "You know I love a good party."

Stephanie handed him a cup of coffee. "Well, I have the hangover, but didn't get any of the fun to make it worthwhile!" she complained.

"We should fix that. How about we get some of the guys together and go out tonight, Steph? You've been all work and no play this week. No wonder you had a headache last night. I'll even call Megan, and Bobby and Tank can bring Adria and Lula, so you can have a group to go to the ladies room with."

Stephanie rolled her eyes at the last comment but really liked his idea. "You know what, Lester? That just might be what I need. It sounds great." She looked at Jack. "You game to join us?"

"I could lie and say I'm busy, but since I live here, and you are my only patient…." He got a wicked grin on his face. "I'll tag along in the interest of monitoring my charge. It might be fun watching Stephanie Plum out in public. I hear anything can happen."

"Ha! You've been sorely misinformed, mister." She snapped back, poking him in the chest with a single finger. "I'm an absolute bore. The real show is watching the women fall all over themselves trying to get to my gorgeous Merry Men." She took a sip of her coffee. "That, Dr. Winchester, will be a fascinating study in human behavior for you to observe."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

When they left RangeMan that evening, they were a cozy party of five. Stephanie, Lester, Megan, Hal, and Jack crowded into one of the larger SUVs and headed for Bugsy's, a hole in the wall pub that was famous for its foot long subs, onsite brewery and live bands. Hector was working his shift until midnight and would join them later. Bobby and Adria had tickets to a play, and Tank was doing office work. Lula was going to keep him company. Stephanie bet Lester it would be less than an hour before Tank's focus would be completely diverted.

Inside the bar they pulled a few tables together and began with a round of beer. As the night progressed, several RangeMen sauntered in and joined the group. By midnight they had half the tables in the place pulled together, and the number in their gathering had grown to at least fifteen. Stephanie had stopped counting after Tank and Lula showed up around eleven. From the look on Lula's face, their time at the office had _not _been all work and no play.

True to Stephanie's prediction, the evening provided a wonderful show of inventive courting rituals, as female after female vied for the attentions of the men at their table. Jack was fascinated by the aggressive behaviors of the women.

"This is Jersey! Every girl is trained in this stuff. It starts with the hair and goes south. The big do, the make-up, the nails, the lingerie, the clothes, the purse, the shoes. It's all planned down to the tiniest detail. Takes hours to look like that." She nodded at three females stalking their way toward the table.

"My God!" Jack exclaimed in wonder. "I've never seen anything like it, and that's saying a lot. I've spent most of my life on army bases, and we see our share of…eager women, but this…this is…"

"Disgusting!" Stephanie spit out in distaste. "I can't believe I used to do stuff like that."

"Hate to break it to you Beautiful, but you _do_ still do stuff like that."

"True Lester." She smiled. "But now I get paid to do it."

Jack looked at her with his mouth open to ask a question, but nothing came out.

"Distractions for RangeMan," she answered. "Though it _is_ how I snatched my husband, Dickie. It was a bar just like this, near the college campus." She shook her head. "Not the best hunting ground if you're looking for commitment from a partner." She took a drink of her beer. "We all know how that worked out." She returned her attention to the women in the room. "Somebody should warn these poor girls. There should be self-help pamphlets in the bathroom."

Jack laughed at that idea. "They wouldn't listen anyway, Steph. Some things you just have to find out for yourself."

"It's a hard lesson to learn," she said, shaking her head sadly.

"Yeah, it is," Jack agreed.

"Speaking of the bathroom," Stephanie spoke as she stood. "I have to…"

Ten men stood instantly, in unison, before Stephanie even finished her sentence. There was only the slightest sound from their chairs scooting against the wooden floor.

Megan looked up in amazement. "Wow, look at that." She was in awe as she noticed all of the men, including Lester, focused on Stephanie. "I guess the army really knows how to instruct its soldiers in proper etiquette."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Megan, but this isn't about manners. They all think they're going to follow me to the bathroom." She turned to the standing men. "Geez, guys, do you think we could narrow it down to one or two? I don't need a whole platoon listening to me pee."

"Girl, I got you covered." Lula whipped a .9mm glock out her purse. A few of the men flinched at the way she casually swung the weapon back and forth. "You guys don't need to worry. Any fool tries to mess with our girl; I'll bust a cap in his ass the size of New Jersey."

Lula was dressed in a loud and colorful mini dress with large keyhole cutouts on the front and back. Her breasts were making a determined effort to escape through the front keyhole. When she stood to make her point, she awkwardly teetered on her five inch heels, briefly loosing control of her gun. She didn't inspire a lot of confidence.

"Lula," Tank spoke slowly and patiently. "Put the gun away."

"I can handle this, Tank. We don't need no man interrupting our privacy."

"Lula, let the men do their job," he continued in a calm voice.

"You know what your problem is, Tank? You got no respect for me! I'm a professional." She shoved the gun back into her purse. "Come on, ladies. It's time to go to the bathroom."

Stephanie, Lula, and Megan were only five feet from the table when they heard Tank's voice give the order.

"Santos, Johnson, you go. The rest of you…have a seat."

Lester and Hal caught up with the ladies in the long, dimly lit hallway at the back of the pub. When they reached the ladies bathroom door Stephanie stopped and allowed Hal to move past her. He knocked firmly on the door and when there was no answer he opened it and stepped inside with his weapon drawn. It was a small bathroom with two stalls and a double sink. On the far side of the room was a narrow closet door. Hal motioned for the women to wait as he pushed each stall door open to make sure no one was hiding behind them. He looked at the closet door, but didn't give it much thought because it was locked from the outside with an eye and hook latch. It was also too narrow for even an average-sized man to fit inside.

"All clear." He called to them.

The women rushed past him on his way out. Stephanie entered the first stall and began to take care of business. Lula motioned for Megan to take the second stall and stationed herself in front of the mirror to freshen her make-up. Megan and Steph finished quickly, and soon all three women were crowded together at the sinks chatting and washing their hands. Stephanie turned to the paper towel dispenser and found it empty.

"Damn, I hate when that happens," she said, flapping her wet hands in frustration.

"Hold on girl, I bet there's some in this little closet over here." Lula unhinged the hook and reached for the small knob. Before she could exhibit any pull, the door was pushed open from the inside. Stephanie gasped, Lula jumped back, while swearing a blue streak, and Megan screamed as the bloody, mutilated body of a young woman, slumped out of the closet and rolled to the floor at their feet.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Joe Morelli walked into the storage and prep room behind the kitchen and took in the, almost comical, sight of the witnesses waiting to be interviewed by the homicide detective in charge. Stephanie was sitting in a chair; legs crossed, impatiently tapping her fingers in a tense rhythm against the table. A man he didn't recognize was standing behind her with his hands firmly resting on her shoulders as if he were keeping her anchored to the chair. Joe imagined that if the man were to let go, she would spring out of the chair and take off at an unnatural speed toward the nearest exit. Lula was frantically pacing back and forth murmuring something about dead bodies and evil curses. The heels on the shoes she was wearing were so high that they looked dangerously insufficient to manage the weight they were supporting. He wasn't sure how she was maintaining her balance, but decided that keeping a safe distance from her would be wise. Ranger's second-in-command, Tank, stood in the corner, arms crossed, straight faced, carefully observing the situation. A very pretty blond, Joe had never seen before, was wrapped in a blanket and sitting on the lap of another of Ranger's men, Lester Santos. His arms were tightly wound around her waist and his chin was resting on her shoulder. She looked shaken and pale. It was going to be a long night.

"Hello, Cupcake," he addressed Stephanie directly with a slight grin on his face. "Didn't take you long. Have you even been back in town two weeks yet?"

Stephanie sighed at the dig. She really didn't want to deal with Joe Morelli.

Jack realized almost immediately who the man was, from his many private conversations with Stephanie. He hastily came to her rescue. "Officer Morelli, my name is Dr. Jack Winchester. I'm Miss Plum's physician. I hope it will be possible to make these interviews brief. They're all, understandably, quite shaken and need to go home."

"Is that so?" Joe was not impressed. "Are you upset, Miss Plum?" he mocked. "Seems this should be old hat for you."

"Listen Joe, I'm tired, and pissed, and I want to go home. So ask your damn questions and stick the snide remarks up your ass!"

"You tell him, white girl!" Lula had stopped her pacing and had anchored herself near Tank. Cops made her nervous. "We didn't see nothing. We was just looking for some paper towels to dry our hands with. That poor girl come tumbling out of that closet like a damn jack-in-the-box…'ceptin' there was no music or nothin'."

Tank stood up straight and walked toward Morelli. To almost anyone else, this move, in itself, would be intimidating. Joe was tough. He didn't bat an eye at the massive wall of muscle glaring down at him. "Detective Morelli, the ladies and my men have already given their statements to the first officers on the scene. I'm sure if you go over the reports, you'll find them quite complete. We're taking them home now. You know where to reach us if you have any additional questions." He took Lula's hand and pulled her toward the door. The other two men followed with their respective companions.

Right before Stephanie left the room, Joe called to her. "I warned you before, Cupcake. Manoso is going to get you killed one of these days."

Stephanie froze in her steps. She slowly turned around and looked him straight in the eye. "Don't worry about me, Joe. Carlos Manoso has taught me more about what it means to be loved by someone, than I ever knew was possible. If it all ended tomorrow, I'd die a very happy woman." She gave him a small, tight smile, turned around and left under the protection of her Merry Men.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx…

Author's note: I have many readers, and would love to get some feedback from some of you who have never left a review. I know it takes time to write a review, and maybe you don't know what to say! But just consider letting me know what you like about a chapter, what confuses you, what made you laugh, cry or angry! You can even ask me questions. I answer every review. I would love to know what my readers are thinking! It honestly makes a difference to my creative muse.


	8. Chapter 8

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

Author's note: Another long chapter, but you all don't seem to mind. I appreciate the wonderful reviews from the last chapter. And thanks to the brave readers who responded to my challenge and left a review for the first time. I honor you with the 'Stephanie Plum Courage Under Pressure' award!

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 8

Stephanie had been working in Ranger's office most of the morning. Yesterday, she had managed to avoid dwelling on the events of Saturday night by staying very busy with plans and preparations for the Thanksgiving get together that was growing exponentially by the day. Now, while she was waiting for the computer to run its latest search, the images and details kept popping up uninvited. The girl was so young. She couldn't have been older than nineteen or twenty. It was easy enough to get a fake ID. Stephanie had one when she was that age.

Tank was waiting on his contact at Trenton PD to get some details of the investigation, but Stephanie was pretty sure the victim had been raped. Lester and Hal had rushed them out of the bathroom so fast she hadn't been able tell where all the blood had come from, but she did remember seeing the girl's dress torn down the front and it was obvious, from the way her body had landed haphazardly on the floor, her panties were missing.

Stephanie was also still steaming about her confrontation with Joe. This was the second encounter they'd had with each other in the last month. Neither of them had gone well. She was surprised at the bitterness in his words. The way he treated her at the bar had been hurtful, and she'd had no other recourse but to stand up for herself in response. She felt Joe had betrayed her, and their friendship, by making those cutting remarks in front of her friends. He knew how it had made her feel when she would hear those kinds of comments from the other cops. He used to defend her from them. Now he was joining in the sarcastic belittlement of her life.

The computer finished its search, and Stephanie sent it to the printer. Tank walked in and took a seat in the chair by Ranger's desk. He was holding a file.

"Bomber, I have some information on Saturday night."

Stephanie was hesitant to listen. He would be giving her gruesome details she would rather not hear. She was also really afraid that this murder was somehow connected to her, and the threat to her safety would require her total lockdown at RangeMan, instead of the freedom she was hoping for at Ranger's return.

"Okayyyy." She said slowly, preparing herself for the worst.

"The girl's name was Anna Burke, 18 years old, from Newark."

Stephanie closed her eyes at the sorrow she felt for this girl. When Tank spoke her name, it made it tougher to keep thinking of the girl as just a victim. "Eighteen?" She winced.

"She was at the bar with two friends, both underage. The friends had already hooked up with guys and weren't paying any attention to where she was or how long she'd been missing. They didn't see anyone hanging around her. They weren't much help." He looked at Stephanie to see if he should continue. He had more.

Stephanie met his eyes. "Cause of death?"

"The autopsy report isn't done but her throat was slit. He probably had to break a few bones to get her into that closet. From the bruising, it would appear she had a rough time of it before she died."

"Tank, was she…raped?"

"Yeah."

"I thought so." She almost whispered to herself. Stephanie sat back in her chair and took a deep breath. She spun her chair to face the window. "Do they have any suspects?"

"No. Not much evidence either. They'll check for DNA, but that will take a while."

"Have there been other attacks like this one, or is it an isolated incident?"

"They don't have any other crimes with the same MO in Trenton, but they're just starting to expand the investigation state and nation wide."

"Anything else?"

"I know what you're thinking, Bomber. We don't have any reason to believe that this guy was after you. We'll check out the girl's background now that we have a name. But she didn't look anything like you, she doesn't appear to even have any remote connection to you, and there was nothing left behind at the crime scene to suggest the attack should have or could have been meant for you. Right now it looks like your typical 'wrong place at the wrong time' coincidence."

"It certainly was for Anna." Stephanie let out another guilty sigh of relief and reached out her hand. "Give me the file. I'll do the search"

"No, Steph! You don't have to do that. I'll give it to Max."

She spun her chair back around and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Really Tank, I want to do it. I need to do it. Let me have it. Please."

She got to him with the 'please' and those damn, blue eyes. "Hell, Bomber, Ranger's gonna kill me for this." He tossed the file on the desk, stood up and headed to the door. Before he walked out he turned back to Stephanie. "You're riding with Lester today."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

"I'm telling you Beautiful, the article said that nine out of ten women would do it in a public place."

"Uh huh," Stephanie chuckled. "And where did you read this article, Les?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Because if it was in Playboy, the research was probably done at a strip club and nine of the women were exotic dancers and the tenth was the cleaning lady."

"What's wrong with that? They're still women?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "It's not a very fair representation of the female population. Why don't you have Megan ask the same question to ten nurses at the hospital and see if she gets the same response?"

"Hey, that's a great idea." Lester pulled out his phone.

Stephanie slapped his arm. "Don't you dare ask her to do that, you idiot!" She grabbed at the phone, but he quickly pulled it out of her reach. "Do you want her to find out what kind of pervert you really are?"

"She already knows." He grinned.

"Lester, you haven't done anything to screw this up have you? Megan's the best thing to ever happen to you."

"I know it, Beautiful." His grin got larger. "She knows me and loves me anyway."

"Does she know about last Fourth of July?"

"Hey that was one time!" He strongly protested. "And there's no way I could have known that girl was underage. Girls did _not_ look like that, and they certainly did _not_ dress like that, when I was 16." He settled back into his seat. "Besides, I told you, nothing happened anyway. She was too drunk. She kept throwing up."

Stephanie shook her head in wonder. "You can really pick 'em, Les."

"Yeah? At least I didn't marry any of them. Don't forget, you picked Dickie Orr."

Stephanie grimaced at the reminder of one of her own big failures. "Ouch, Les." She turned to look out the car window. "I guess you've got me there." She surveyed the park one more time. "You know, we've been sitting here all afternoon waiting for this guy to walk his dog. I'm hungry and I have to go to the bathroom."

"Yeah, I think he's a no show. Cal and Binkie will probably catch him later at his apartment. Let's get out of here."

Lester started the car and they drove a couple of blocks to a local Quik Mart. "You go to the bathroom and I'll pick up some drinks and a few snacks." He turned to her. "Coke and Tasty Cakes?"

Stephanie gave him a big smile. "32 ounce and Butterscotch Krimpets." She opened the door to get out. "Oh and can you get me a Hershey bar too? With almonds."

Stephanie finished in the bathroom and left the store to wait outside. It was chilly, but sunny, and after sitting in the car for hours, it felt good to stand and stretch against the black SUV that had been warmed by the sun. She watched for a minute as people took advantage of the unusually bright November day. A group of kids were playing soccer in an empty lot across the street. With Thanksgiving just a few days off, the grocery store down the block had a steady stream of traffic going through its doors. As Stephanie continued to observe the harried shoppers, she noticed a man with a dog on a leash pass around the crowd at the door. She quickly opened the car door, grabbed the file off the seat, pulled out the photo and looked back at the man coming her way.

"Well hello, Roger Milton." She said in a low voice.

Stephanie looked back toward the door to the Quik Mart. No Lester. Regardless of the RangeMan rules that you never go after a skip without back up, her lone bounty hunter instincts kicked in, and she decided to approach the FTA on her own. She had her gun, spray, and cuffs so she marched down the street determined to get her man.

"Roger Milton?"

The man stopped and pulled to shorten the leash on his dog. "Who wants to know?"

"My name is Stephanie Plum and you are in violation of your bond agreement with the Vincent Plum Bond Agency. I need to take you in to reschedule your court date." She reached for his free hand. "If you'll just come with me…."

Before she even finished her sentence, the man turned and bolted the way he had come. Stephanie hesitated only a second before she followed in pursuit. He wasn't a dangerous criminal and his bond wasn't even that high. It was the principle of the thing. He ran from what was going to be her perfect capture for Ranger and the one and only bright spot in her day. Now she was pissed off.

The man barreled right through the crowd, who was more than willing to give a panicked man with a large dog a wide berth. They weren't so generous to Stephanie. As soon as the man cleared the large group of shoppers they closed ranks, and Stephanie had to dodge several carts, old ladies, and strollers to get all the way through. By the time she made it to the other side…Roger Milton was gone.

Stephanie wasn't ready to give up. Past the market she saw a wide alley leading to the next block and decided it was worth a shot. As she moved quickly past the dumpsters and ran out the other side, Stephanie made a sharp turn to go west on Beech street. Her eyes were busy scanning the distance for her suspect so she didn't see the man stepping out of the building to her left. They literally collided on the sidewalk.

In quick response to the impact, the man grabbed her by the waist to keep her from going down. "I'm so sorry, miss. Are you al…" The man's face lit up at his initial recognition of her. "Stephanie?" But then it changed as a painful anguish pierced his pleasant features.

After unsuccessfully trying to see past him to search for her skip, Stephanie looked up at the man for the first time when he spoke her name. Roger Milton now forgotten; she couldn't believe her eyes. "Andrew?" She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts and place him in this odd situation. "What...what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," he said, setting her straight on the sidewalk and brushing off his coat, in an attempt to conceal his undeniable attraction to her.

"I'm sorry." She said, still standing in shock. "I was chasing a suspect with a dog." She shook her head to clear it. "What are you doing in Trenton?"

Andrew looked uncomfortable with his answer. "I came to see a man named Dickie Orr. He's an attorney."

"I know," Stephanie replied flatly. "I used to be married to him."

"Dickie Orr was your husband? Your real husband?"

Stephanie looked up at the building they stood in front of. Sure enough it was where Dickie's new office was located. "Yes," she sighed. "I'm sorry to say."

"Well after meeting him, I can understand your sentiment. You were actually married to that arrogant idiot?"

"Biggest mistake of my life. What can I say? I was very young and naïve." She shrugged her shoulders in defense. "What on earth did you need to see Dickie abo...," she paused. "You know…don't you?"

Andrew looked over her shoulder and stared at nothing, avoiding eye contact. "Manoso gave me some files. The information inside included Dickie Orr's name. I came to interview him…get some answers…I'm trying…I want to make some sense of all this." He looked so frustrated.

"I understand." The fact that Ranger had given Andrew some of the case files surprised her, but she'd think about that later.

Andrew didn't want to discuss this anymore. It was too painful. He tried to change the subject. "So, this is what you do for a living when you're not manipulating innocent bystanders in an intricate game as an undercover agent?" His voice was heavy with sarcasm.

Stephanie looked down at her hands in embarrassment. "I deserve your anger, and your bitterness. I'm surprised you can even tolerate speaking to me. I caused you a lot of pain, and I'm sorry." Stephanie battled with herself. One part of her thought she should gracefully walk away and leave this poor man to deal with his grief without the likes of Stephanie Plum invading another moment of his life. Another part wanted to do something to help make it all better. The second part won out, so she continued. "I actually wanted to see you again, Andrew. Last time we saw each other, we left things…broken."

"There was no other way to leave it."

"I know what I did was terrible…hurtful. Having your heart played with is…is…well, it's more painful, more devastating than any physical injury." She lifted her cast in example. "But I want you to know, Andrew, it wasn't _all_ a lie. I enjoyed spending time with you. Don't sell yourself short." She pleaded. "You are a charming, sexy man, and very much someone I could easily find myself…"

"Are you still with Manoso?" He cut her off, not wanting to hear her say those words.

"Yes."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes."

"Then there's nothing more to say. Is there?"

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"You can't fix this Stephanie." Andrew was surprised at the hostility in his own voice. "There aren't words you can say that will make this better. You can't keep apologizing. I understand you were doing your job." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "And regardless of what you think…I don't believe you are some kind of monster for what you did. But we can't go back. We can't be…friends." His manner toward her was cold and removed.

Tears formed at his harsh words, but Stephanie resolutely refused to let them fall. She swallowed hard, hoping to keep them at bay. "Okay. I understand." She slowly backed away, but then, as a final act of attempted redemption, she stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I wish nothing but the best for you Andrew." She quickly turned and ran off. Safely away from his presence, the tears ran their all too familiar path down her cheeks. She found her way back to the Quik Mart and got into the SUV just as Lester was coming out of the store.

"Sorry about the wait, Beautiful, but Megan called and then the woman behind the counter was slow as honey on a winter's day. She scanned everybody's items and packed them in bags like they were rare china teacups. Even the old man's toilet paper." He nodded toward an elderly man shuffling through the parking lot. "It was…." He stopped when he noticed her stilted demeanor. "What's the matter?" He turned up her chin and looked at her tear-streamed face. "Are you having any pain?" A bit of panic and a lot of concern filled his voice. He'd witnessed several of her headaches since the accident, and they were scary.

Stephanie violently shook her head. "No, I'm okay, Lester,"

"You're not okay, you've been crying, and you look like you just lost your best friend."

"Just missing Ranger, I guess." It wasn't a complete lie. She dabbed at her cheeks with a corner of her shirt and forced a smile. "How about some dinner? I'm starving."

Lester handed her the drink and the bag of snacks. He decided not to question her obvious attempt at diversion and give her some space. "Okaaayy,…drive-thru or sit down?"

Stephanie didn't answer. Her thoughts were somewhere else.

"Drive-thru it is."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Lester and Stephanie returned to RangeMan, and Stephanie went straight up to seven. It was a difficult choice between facing potential fear and her need to be alone, but she was upset and needed to sort things out, so she didn't ask for company. She went to the bedroom and lay down in her thinking position. She had the beginnings of a headache so she closed her eyes and tried to rest.

Earlier, in an attempt at comfort, she had consumed the Tasty Cakes, the candy bar and the coke, but hadn't touched the sandwich Lester bought at the drive-thru. "Damn sugar!" She berated herself for her lousy nutritional choice. She was sure it was contributing to her pain. She laid there for a long time replaying the encounter with Andrew, over and over, in her head. She hadn't been prepared. She had said all the wrong things. She'd made the situation worse. When the thinking became too painful, she got up and took a hot shower.

Stephanie knew, from her conversation with him that morning, that Ranger's schedule was open between five and seven o'clock. After that, he planned to grab dinner with the base commander and then a final night exercise was scheduled. It was just after six. She threw on some yoga pants and a t-shirt, gently combed out her wet hair, settled herself on the bed and picked up her cell phone to call him. She knew she should call Bobby first, to help her deal with the progressing headache, but she desperately needed to talk to Ranger. She needed to hear his voice and his reassuring words of support. It was a good thing she had speed dial. She was having trouble focusing on the numbers.

Over the last two weeks at Fort McNair, Ranger had run into a few people that he had served with on past missions. This morning he had made arrangements to meet up with a couple of them in the base gymnasium for some friendly time on the mats. He walked into the gym shortly before six o'clock and his two comrades were already waiting. Without a word, he nodded to both of them, took off his belt and pulled off his shirt, shoes and socks and laid everything on a bench near the mats.

"Alright," he said with a grin, "who's first? Dirk, how about you?" Ranger was eager to go a couple of rounds with Dirk. He still owed the young navy seal for taking him for $300 in a poker game they played during their last rescue mission together. Captain Dirk Stevens was as strong as an ox and built like a Mack truck. He had special training in weapons, explosives and, of course, water rescue. Ranger thought he'd make a great addition to his team in Miami and had tried on several occasions to recruit him.

"Yes sir, I'm ready whenever you are, old man." His booming voice echoed off the gymnasium walls.

Ranger froze for just a second and lifted one eyebrow at the statement. "Old man?" he smirked. "You'll feel like one tomorrow, Stevens. I guarantee it."

"You don't want to fight with him, Ranger! He's what my mom used to call a 'Nancy Boy'!" the second soldier affectionately teased along. "You'd get better competition from me."

Ranger looked at her with an amused grin. "You take on the winner then, Janie."

Airman Janie Tremont, Air Force sharpshooter and Hostage Search and Rescue Team specialist, had worked on two separate missions with Ranger in the past. Both times she served as a sniper on the back up team. She was also at McNair to participate as a guest lecturer for the course, to represent the opportunities for women in the area of national security missions. She was an intelligent, quick minded individual with a penchant for making trouble in the name of fun. Physically she was one of the toughest women in the service. With her superior skills in self-defense, she could give even his well trained RangeMen a run for their money. She was tall, buff and her short, spiky, black hair set off her mischievous, green eyes. Janie was a walking contradiction. She had the face of an angel and the mouth of a sailor. She took a seat on the bench and sat back to wait her turn, and enjoy the competition on the mats in front of her.

The contest had been quite interesting. Ranger and Dirk were, surprisingly, well matched. Ranger's quick speed and experience made up for the superior strength that Dirk possessed. They'd been at it for more than ten minutes when Ranger's cell phone rang on the bench next to Janie. She decided to answer it.

"Yo!"

"Carlos?" Steph was clearly confused by the unexpected feminine voice.

"Uh, he's not available right now." Janie joked. "He's a little…preoccupied with a _girl_." She responded with more of the emphasis going toward the two men in action than the person on the phone. "Hey Nancy," she yelled toward the mats, "hurry up and finish takin' him down. He's all mine next!"

Stephanie was stunned by the sketchy grunts and moans she heard in the background.

"Come on, finish up you two love birds. Save some of those famous moves for me, Ranger." Janie was so caught up in what was going on in front of her, she didn't remember she was still holding up the phone. "Damn, Nancy, can't you figure out how to get on top of that?"

In combination with the mounting pressure in her temples, and the state she had been in all day, she easily misconstrued the situation being relayed to her through the phone. Instantly, images and sounds of walking in on Dickie as he violently bounced and groaned against Joyce atop their dining room table, rushed forth in vivid detail. Only now, the face in those images was Ranger's. The stark memory of the shame, the betrayal, and the pain that she experienced consumed her. She felt like such a fool then and now she felt….

She dropped the phone and ran to the bathroom just in time to avoid vomiting on the floor. Tears streamed down her face. This was so much worse.

_He knew what she had been through before_.

_He'd promised. _

_He'd said this would never happen._

_He'd said he would always love…. He'd lied. _

Her mind was battling her heart for the truth. Her thoughts were plummeting in a downward spiral and she was helpless to stop them. Panic set in and pressure began to build at the back of her head.

She splashed some cold water on her face in an attempt to regain some balance to her reasoning. She walked back into the bedroom, in a pain-riddled haze and a feeling of being at loose ends. In the closet she found a duffle bag. She walked around the room picking items up and putting them back down as she realized they weren't hers.

She'd done it again. She'd left herself with nothing. Everything belonged to him. The clothes, the apartment, the car, even her job. The only thing she could put her hands on, that she had full ownership of, was her purse. She chided herself for allowing herself to be caught in this position once more. The walls were closing in and all rational thought abandoned her.

The pain was now throbbing. Staying focused was becoming a challenge. A singular idea became her mantra. She needed to get out, get out, get out. She needed to get away from all that was his. If she could get far enough away she'd be able to clear her mind, figure things out. She couldn't stay here surrounded by…him.

She grabbed her purse and stumbled into the living room. On her way to the apartment door she saw Rex peeking out from his soup can. She changed direction and reached for the cage.

_Mine._

It was heavy and she struggled to balance it and open the door at the same time. By the time she made it into the hall, the pain had amplified to the point that it was no longer possible for her to carry the glass aquarium. She needed one hand to put soothing pressure on the back of her head and one to operate the elevator. She awkwardly set the cage down on the hall tile and murmured woeful apologies to Rex for leaving him behind and promises to get him back. With no coat, no shoes and wet hair, she stepped into the elevator and the doors closed.

When the doors opened again, Stephanie found the garage blissfully empty.

No one to stop her.

No one to ask questions.

No one to see her humiliation.

She reached into her purse to find the key fob remote that would open the gated entrance. She blindly grabbed and grasped, but continually came up empty handed. In an act of total frustration she dumped the entire purse out onto the garage floor, dropped to her knees and spread the contents with both hands until she came up with the magic silver button. She awkwardly gathered up the mess, haphazardly stuffed what she could back into the bag and stood up slinging the strap over her shoulder, leaving a small pile of random possessions behind.

Stephanie passed through the gate and staggered up the ramp, into the fading daylight. Her field of vision narrowed as the sharp pain across the base of her neck intensified and shot up to her temples. She made her way to the sidewalk and picked a building in the distance as a focal point. Ignoring the cold, and anything in her periphery, she put one foot in front of the other, focused only on the destination in front of her. If she could make it to that place, that goal, she could stop and regroup. She stumbled across the entrance to a neighboring business' parking lot, causing a car to come to a screeching halt and honk its horn as it narrowly missed knocking her down.

Stephanie continued on, totally oblivious to the danger.

She had only traveled a few hundred feet before the pain took total control of her already disorganized and fragmented thoughts, and she could no longer maintain her course. Her vision darkened around the edges and sparks of bright light blinded her sight. Her legs gave way and she dropped to the ground, curled into a fetal position and slowly rocked back and forth, willing the pain to go away.

Upstairs in the control room Hal and Max were on monitor duty. The massive bank of screens continuously displayed images of several businesses and homes under contract with RangeMan. Four monitors were dedicated to constant surveillance of the RangeMan building. Motion detectors in the garage immediately triggered a warning light on the control board when Stephanie left the elevator. Standard operating procedure required personnel to respond to the warning by pulling up all the cameras that covered the garage.

"What the hell is she doing?" Max half mumbled, as he critiqued the unusual activity in the garage.

"Who?" Hal asked.

"Bombshell. Something's not right, man. Look at her. She can barely walk in a straight line and she's barefoot."

Hal glanced at the screen and immediately picked up his cell phone. Tank answered on the first ring.

"Speak."

"Pull up the surveillance in the garage. Something's up with Bomber." Hal heard the keys on Tank's keyboard furiously clicking before he even finished his sentence.

"Is she alone?"

"As far as we can tell."

"Damn it!" Tank exclaimed as he watched her walk out the security gate. "Find Santos, bring him up to speed. Is Brown in the building?"

"Yes, sir."

"Notify him." Tank was half way to the stairwell when he finished giving his orders. He yanked the door open and took three steps at a time to get to the garage.

Hal and Max made the calls and maintained a watchful eye on the monitor that was now displaying the views of the building's perimeter.

Hal kept Tank, Bobby and Lester, who was in his car and had already been en route to RangeMan, updated on Stephanie's position. "She's headed north toward Jackson Street. She's almost out of our visual range." Up to this moment Hal had been able to maintain his professional tenor in the crisis, calmly relaying the important information to his superiors. When he saw Stephanie nearly get hit and then crumble to the sidewalk he faltered. "Jesus Christ, she's down." It took everything in him not to leave his chair and run out there.

Hearing the concern in Hal's voice, Tank threw open the door to the garage and bolted through the still open security gate. When he reached the precipice of the driveway he turned north and saw Stephanie lying on the sidewalk in the distance. His heart rate doubled and a hard knot formed in the pit of his stomach.

Stephanie's resolve to continue her escape was rendered useless by the pain. She surrendered to the cold sidewalk and prayed the pain would stop. She couldn't focus on anything but the pain. She had no idea how long she had been laying on the ground when she felt warms hands touch her face and heard the distress in a familiar voice.

_They weren't Ranger's loving hands._

_It wasn't Ranger's concerned voice._

"Steph. Talk to me honey. What is it?"

"Tank." Her voice was filled with agony. "Get Bobby. Please make it stop." She continued to hold her right hand to the back of her head and whimpered at the unrelenting pain.

"It's okay, sweetie, he's coming." Tank lifted her chilled body off the sidewalk and carried her back toward headquarters, all the while whispering comforting words.

_They weren't Ranger's soothing words._

He was met halfway by an anxious Bobby, and before they reached the garage, Lester had pulled in, with Megan in the passenger seat. By the time they made it into the garage, six more men were waiting at the entrance to the elevator eager to help.

"Let's get her up to the apartment. She's freezing; we need to get her warmed up," Bobby ordered, as he did a brief assessment of her condition in Tank's arms.

"No!" She forced out. The men all looked at her in total bafflement. "Not seven." She cried in a weak but undeniable command. "Can't go back there." She mumbled as a final decree.

The three men looked at each other for a decision. Bobby stepped up, took her hand in his and gently stroked her face. "Okay, honey, we'll go to the clinic on the fourth floor. I can help you there."

"Thank you." Assured that they would follow her wishes, Stephanie put her welfare into the hands of her rescuers and gave up her focus for everything but the pain. Tank felt her relax slightly in his arms.

_They weren't Ranger's protective arms._

Tank gently transferred Stephanie onto Bobby's examination table. The pain was so intense that she couldn't lie straight or still. She grabbed her head with both hands and pulled herself into a tightly bound ball trying to suppress the screams she wanted so desperately to release. Lester and Tank remained at her sides while Bobby, with Megan's help, efficiently moved about the room gathering supplies. Lester covered her hands with his and rubbed them tenderly.

"Listen, Beautiful, it won't be long now. Bobby's getting what you need."

Megan returned to the table with a thermal blanket and asked Lester to help her get it around Stephanie while she put some footie socks on her frozen feet. Bobby nudged Tank to the side and quickly injected her with the prescribed medication he had been using for these episodes all along. In a matter of minutes the horrendous tension that possessed her, finally released its grip, and she drifted off to sleep.

"What the hell just happened?" Tank asked, bewildered.

"She's had these headache episodes since the accident. The last one was on Thursday night, but it was nothing like this. I thought she would be over these by now." Bobby dropped the stethoscope from his ears and removed the blood pressure cuff with a sigh.

"Curtis told her she could expect them to come and go for a while, but they shouldn't be getting worse." Megan, with her expertise and experience was a welcome and appreciated presence.

Lester continued to tenderly stroke Stephanie's arm. "They've never been like this, Bobby. It was like she'd lost her mind. She wandered outside with wet hair and without a coat or shoes. She was nearly hit by a car. She could have been killed! And what was all that about not going up to seven?"

Tank pulled out his phone. "Hal, was Bomber alone on seven?" He nodded at whatever he was hearing from the other end of the line. "Santos and I will run up there and check things out." He disconnected.

"What did he say?"

"He said she was alone. She went up there less than two hours ago. The security camera in the hall shows the apartment door wide open and the little rat sitting in the hall in his cage."

"Rex? Is sitting in the hall?"

"Yeah, let's head up there. You got everything under control here, Bobby?"

"Yeah, but before you go, Lester, see if you can locate Jack. I don't know if he's in the building, but he should be made aware of the situation.

Lester took off down the hall and, in less than a minute, returned with an alarmed Jack and a distressed Hector. He and Tank then headed up to seven.

Tank took the stairs, and Lester, the elevator. They both had their guns drawn as a precaution. As Lester stepped off the elevator he looked down at the noise Rex was making in his wheel. He nodded at Tank as the large man came through the stairwell door. Together they made their way down the hall and into the apartment. A full search of the rooms turned up nothing but an open cell phone found lying on the bedroom floor.

Tank picked it up.

"Steph's?"

"Yeah." Tank pushed a few buttons. "She called Ranger about forty-five minutes ago."

"That's right before we found her outside."

Tank pulled out his own phone and called Ranger.

"Yo, Tank, what's up?"

"What the fuck did you say to Bomber?"

"Explain."

"When you just spoke with her, what the hell happened between you two?"

"I haven't spoken with Stephanie since this morning. Why?"

"Not forty-five minutes ago?"

"No. What the hell's going on, Tank?"

"Somebody had a seven minute conversation with her, on your phone, less than an hour ago. A few minutes later, she walked out of the building barely dressed. We found her lying outside on the sidewalk down the street from Haywood having one of her headache attacks."

"Where is she now?"

"Bobby had to sedate her. She's downstairs in the clinic resting. Jack's with her too."

"What the fuck happened? Why did she leave the building?"

"I was hoping you could answer that. All we know is that she took off out of here like a bat out of hell and didn't want to come back. We won't get any answers from her for a while. She's out pretty good." He turned and walked toward the bedroom window. "Damn, Ranger, I've never seen one of those spells, but according to Lester and Bobby, this one was pretty bad."

Tank could hear the obvious tension in Ranger's voice. "Thanks for taking care of her, Tank. I'll call Brown. See if you can find out what happened with her before she called my phone. I'll try to figure what went on at my end." They disconnected simultaneously.

Ranger excused himself from dinner and took off toward the women's quarters. He remembered exactly where his phone was an hour ago, and he needed some answers. He called Bobby while he walked across the compound.

"Brown."

"Bobby, how is she?"

"She's stable now, Boss. Her body temp had dropped a bit, but we've brought it up with a warming blanket. Her blood pressure was sky high, but it's been slowly dropping. Megan was here with Lester, and Jack had her start an IV for fluids just as a precaution. He wants to be able to dose her quickly if she comes around and is still experiencing the same level of pain."

"How long do you think she'll be out?"

"I sedated her pretty heavily. She'll sleep for at least the next couple of hours if not longer. She looked pretty exhausted when we got her in here."

"Will you be able to move her up to seven? I think she'd be more comfortable up there. You know how she hates hospitals."

"We tried to take her up there first, Ranger. She wouldn't go. She said she couldn't go back up there. She didn't tell us why before she passed out."

"Thanks, Bobby. Keep me posted. The earliest I can get out of here is not until after midnight but I'll try to get a flight out as soon as possible." Ranger disconnected the call and headed into the building to find Janie Tremont.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Author's note: Whew! What a day for Stephanie. Dead Bodies, Andrew, Headaches, Infidelity? Let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 9

It took Ranger all of about five minutes to get the information he needed from Janie. She told him that she remembered answering his phone and telling the caller, who she was pretty sure had been a woman, that Ranger was busy, but then had gotten distracted by what was happening on the mats. After a few minutes, she had remembered she was holding the phone and made an attempt to talk to the caller, but she was gone. So Janie had hung up. She apologized profusely for forgetting to tell Ranger about the call and hoped everything was alright. Ranger didn't see the point in trying to explain the situation, so he thanked Janie for the information, assured her that it was just a misunderstanding and left.

Ranger now knew what had happened on his end when Stephanie called, and could understand if she would have questioned why a woman was answering his phone, but he couldn't figure out why her reaction had been so extreme.

He didn't like waiting, but Ranger had to be at the field exercise at 2000 hours. He called the airport and the next flight out wasn't scheduled until morning. The company plane was sitting at the Newark airport scheduled to leave on Wednesday to pick up Julie in Miami. If he called Phil now, he could easily have the plane in DC by the time they were scheduled to finish with the field exercise at midnight. That would put him in Trenton around 0400. He made the call. When his flight was secured, he phoned Tank and relayed the information he had about Stephanie's call.

"Damn, Ranger, you think Bomber actually believed that something was going on between you and Janie? That you would do something like that to her?" Tank's incredulous response was reassuring to Ranger.

"I think that hearing a woman's voice answering my phone was obviously upsetting, but there has to have been something else going on with her. Stephanie wouldn't normally walk away from a situation like that. She would have exploded at Janie and given her a piece of her mind."

Tank nodded to himself in agreement. "Lester and I tried to piece together as much of her day as we could. She worked on searches in your office in the morning. I gave her the information on the victim from Saturday night. She was bothered by it but insisted on doing the background check on the girl herself."

"You gave that to her!"

"Listen, Ranger." Tank knew this was going to come back to bite him in the ass. "She begged for it. She said she needed to do it." He got defensive. "If she had looked at you with those baby blues, you would have given in too."

"Dios." Ranger nodded his head at the truth. "What else did she do today?"

"She worked a surveillance shift with Lester. He said nothing happened during their shift, but on the way back to Haywood they stopped at a convenience store for her to use the bathroom while he picked up some drinks and snacks. He got held up in a long line at the check out, and she was back in the car waiting by the time he made it out of the store. He said she looked like she had been crying and when he asked her whether she was having any pain; she said no, she was just missing you."

Ranger sighed heavily. "I have to get through this damn night exercise. I've called Phil. He'll have the plane down here shortly after midnight. We should land in Newark by 0230 hours. Have someone waiting for me at the hanger."

"Gotcha, boss."

"And, Tank?"

"Yeah, yeah, Ranger. Don't worry. She's strong and smart. We'll figure this out. We won't let her out of our sight."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie groaned as she slowly came back to consciousness. She didn't open her eyes right away. She was cautious of the pain. It was still lurking, and she felt the threat of its imminent return. It quickly dawned on her that she had no clue where she was and concern and curiosity won out. She slowly opened first one eye and then the other. She was in a bed with very nice sheets. Thinking she must be in Ranger's bed and panicking that her wishes had been ignored, she sat up way too fast, and the room began to spin as a sharp pain shot up from the base of her skull. She grabbed her head in both hands to stop the spin and contain the pain. She closed her eyes and waited to try again.

"Steph?"

Stephanie looked up at the distinctly feminine voice. The room was dark but she knew who it was. "Megan?"

"Yes. How do you feel?"

"How do I look?"

"Well, it's a little dark right now, but several hours ago, you didn't look so hot." Megan leaned over in the chair she was sitting in and reached for a small bedside table lamp. When the dim light kicked on, Stephanie grimaced at the discomfort it caused. "Sorry, but you still look like hell."

"Thanks." Stephanie braved the pain and looked around. She noticed the IV in her arm. "Where am I? This looks like one of the RangeMan apartments."

"This is Jack's room. He moved in with Hector. We had you in the clinic when you first came in. Do you remember that?"

Stephanie nodded, but quickly regretted the movement.

"I told Bobby you couldn't stay on that examination table all night, and you didn't want to go the apartment upstairs…sooo…"

When Megan mentioned Ranger's apartment, all the feelings of humiliation and betrayal came flooding back and Stephanie turned her head to hide her reaction.

"Steph, what happened?" Megan's voice was full of concern and compassion. She reached over to Stephanie and laid a hand on her arm.

"I don't know, Megan. I was so confused by what I heard. I not sure I'm ready to talk about it yet."

"Would you like me to go get Lester…or Jack? They both told me to come get them any time tonight if you woke up. Maybe you'd like to talk to one of them."

Stephanie looked at Megan. "What time is it? How long have I been out?"

"It's almost one in the morning. You've been asleep since about seven or so. That's when Bobby injected you with a dose of the D.H.E. 45."

Stephanie held up the arm with the IV. "What's this for?"

"You were in a lot of pain when Tank brought you in. Jack was concerned that your regular medicine alone may not be enough to control it. He asked me to start the IV so he'd have the option of quickly adding another medication if needed." Stephanie slowly nodded in understanding. "Do you have any other questions?"

"I remember Tank bringing me in. Who else...was there? Who else saw?"

"Almost everybody here. The guys on monitors caught you leaving. When Lester got the call, we were already on our way here. We were just a couple of blocks away. By the time we got out of the car, the garage was swarming with men."

Stephanie rolled her eyes and then trapped a few tears with her hand. As embarrassing as it was to have been the center of such a spectacle, it was touching to know the guys were all so concerned about her. "Does Ranger…know?" She put up her hand to halt the answer. "Never mind, that's a stupid question. Of course he knows. Ranger is always informed about everything."

"He's on his way back. Tank said he should be here around four or so." Again, Stephanie just nodded. Megan got out of the chair and sat on the side of the bed. She checked the IV to make sure it was still okay. When she was done checking, she didn't get up. "You never answered me. Would you like me to get someone you can talk to?"

"Not yet." She was quiet for a few moments. Megan made a move to get up, but Stephanie laid a hand on her arm to stop her. "Megan, have you ever felt like the best thing that ever happened to you was slipping away, and you had no control in stopping it?"

"Yeah, I kinda have."

It dawned on Stephanie what she had just said. "Oh my god, Megan, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay Steph. That's exactly how I felt when Justin was killed. The best thing that ever happened to me slipped right out of my life and I couldn't stop it or change it. I was left with…nothing but memories and a lot of anger." She stopped focusing on her own sorrow and turned back to Stephanie. "What's going on Steph? Something had you pretty upset tonight and it was more than just the headache."

For the next ten minutes Stephanie gave Megan a rundown of the events of her day. From the thoughts she had about Morelli, to the encounter with Andrew, to what she heard on the phone when she called Ranger. Megan sat and listened to everything. She never interrupted, and didn't ask any questions. When Stephanie was finished she sat back and waited for Megan to respond.

"Steph, I have no doubt that what you experienced today was very traumatic, and you have every right to question it. The stress, from all of these things you just told me about, probably contributed to the severity of the cluster headache that nearly crippled you outside. It's no wonder you couldn't think straight." She stopped for a minute and gathered her thoughts. "But, Stephanie, you haven't lost anything yet. Carlos isn't dead. He's alive and, according to Lester, he's worried sick about you. You don't know if what you heard during that phone call was even a betrayal of your trust. You owe it to Carlos, and your relationship, to find out the truth. You have to talk to him."

"You're right. I just don't know what to say to him."

"Tell him what you just told me. He loves you. He'll listen and I'm sure he'll understand."

Stephanie gave her a weak smile. "I will. Thanks, Megan."

"Listen, I'm going to go get Bobby and Jack and send them in. I promised that when you woke up I would let them know." She sported an enormous grin. "And them I'm going to go find Lester and climb into bed with him. A good friend once told me to give him a chance because he was worth it. She was right. "

Stephanie smiled. "Go get your man and give him a kiss for me."

Megan left the room and within a few minutes, Bobby, Jack and Hector came in. Hector didn't say anything, but immediately went to her side, took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. Stephanie smiled up at one of the sweetest men in her life, and then turned her attention to the worried medical professionals.

"Sorry for taking your room, Jack. I hear you got stuck having to bunk with this guy." She nodded toward Hector and squeezed his hand.

"Yeah, sacrifices had to be made. And a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." He gave her the slightest of smirks.

Bobby was busy taking Steph's blood pressure and checking her heart and eyes. "How do you feel? Headache any better?"

"Much, thank you. Just a little headache right now." She tolerated the poking and prodding relatively well. "Any chance of a girl getting a drink around here?"

Hector jumped up from the bed and headed out the door.

"You gave us all quite a scare Steph." Jack's tenor was very serious. He searched Stephanie's eyes, mentally poking and prodding her with his stare as thoroughly as Bobby was with his medical equipment.

"I know. I'm sorry." Stephanie looked away from the intensity. "I…things got out of hand. I'm sorry I caused so much trouble."

Hector came back in to the room with a cold bottle of water. Stephanie thanked him with another smile and drank half of it before she put it down.

"Is there any reason why I would need to keep this IV in? I'd like to use the…little girl's room." She felt a little silly admitting that in front of the three men who couldn't take their eyes off her.

Bobby looked at Jack for an answer.

Jack took a few seconds to think about it and then looked at Bobby. "How are her vitals?"

"Everything looks good. Temp is back to normal, bp's normal, heart rate is normal. Those beautiful eyes are still clear and bluer than the sky on a summer's day." He gave Steph a reassuring smile. "Megan told me she was still in some pain, so I brought a couple Advil. You think that will be enough, Bomber?"

Stephanie nodded.

"Alright, you can take it out," Jack said to Bobby, and then he turned to look Stephanie straight in the eye. "But if you start to feel the slightest increase in pressure or pain, I want you to promise you'll tell one of us immediately. Okay?"

Jack had never been this stern with her before. Stephanie thought he must have been really worried.

"Cross my heart." She took the pills from Bobby and swallowed them with a little of her water.

Bobby removed the IV and Stephanie got out of the bed. She was a little unsteady on her feet at first, so Hector held onto her arm until she was standing in the bathroom and could hold onto the counter. He stepped out and pulled the door shut but he didn't walk away.

"Hector!" Stephanie threatened through the door. "I know you're right on the other side of that door. Move back at least ten feet or I'll find your iPod and secretly download Justin Bieber songs onto it!"

The guys all snickered, and Hector dutifully did as she requested to give her some privacy.

When Stephanie finished in the bathroom, she made it back to the bedroom and into bed on her own while Hector nervously watched from the far side of the room.

Bobby finished up with his charting, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I'm a phone call away if you need me." He nodded to the phone on the bedside table.

"Thanks Bobby."

Bobby left the room followed by Hector. Jack remained, still looking quite worried. "Stephanie, we need to talk about what happened tonight. But I want you to get some more sleep first." He handed her a paper cup with two pills inside, picked up the water bottle from the table and gave it to her as well. "Those should help you rest. We'll talk tomorrow." Stephanie swallowed the pills and drank the rest of the water. "I'm scheduled to leave Wednesday afternoon, but if you're not ready, I won't go."

Stephanie was grateful for those words. "I don't know, Jack. I really need to talk to Carlos first, then you and I can have that discussion."

Jack nodded and headed to the door. As he was leaving, Tank and Lester showed up. Jack looked at his watch.

"You have five minutes, ten tops, before those sleeping pills kick in." They both nodded and entered the bedroom.

Stephanie was nervous and she thought Tank and Lester looked nervous too. Everyone was looking a lot uncomfortable. Stephanie didn't take her eyes off of them as they both walked over to the bed.

Lester leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You're looking a lot better, Beautiful."

She had been so focused on their faces that she didn't notice Tank was carrying a file folder. "Steph I want you to take a look at something." Tank handed her the file. "This is who you spoke to on Ranger's phone earlier."

Stephanie's eyes went wide. "How the hell did you know…?" She stopped mid sentence realizing it was another stupid question. These guys had probably spent the last several hours investigating what had happened. "Never mind." She opened the file. Inside were pictures and a dossier on Janie Tremont. Stephanie silently read through the information on the woman's exceptional military career and quickly glanced at the pictures. "She's beautiful and very…accomplished. Is this supposed to make me feel better?" There was heavy sarcasm in her voice.

"Steph, Janie has worked on a couple of assignments with Ranger. They've known each other for several years. She's very good at what she does."

"I'll bet." Stephanie threw the file on the bed.

Tank was getting frustrated. "You don't understand. Janie is…Janie is…"

"A better match for Ranger? Someone who understands and fits the kind of life he leads? Thanks, Tank, I get the picture." She bitterly cut him off.

"Nooo!" Tank wailed. "Christ! Santos, you're better at this shit than I am. A little help here!" he begged.

Lester stepped forward, sat on the bed, and took Stephanie's hand. "Beautiful, what Tank is trying to tell you is that Janie is to her family...what Hector is to ours."

"Great! She's an electronics whiz too? I must have missed that among all the other qualifications and specialized training she has listed in there." She poked her finger at the file. "Next you're going to tell me she was Miss California 2009. I mean look at her! She's everything I'm not. She's…she's…"

"Gay." Lester uttered.

Stephanie's head shot up. "She's what?"

"She's gay. She's in a relationship with another woman."

"She's gay?"

"As the day is long."

Stephanie was having trouble reconciling this information with what she heard on the phone. "Well then who the hell is Nancy? And what on earth were they doing with Ranger?" she challenged.

Lester's face reflected total confusion. "You've lost me, Beautiful."

"Nancy." She threw the name out in exasperation. "The woman on the phone…Janie…what's her name…said, and I quote, _"He's busy with a girl."_ And then she called them _"lovebirds"_ and yelled out to _"Nancy" _to "_get on top and finish taking him down"_ so that she could have a turn." She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. "I could hear them…in the background…you know…"

"Holy shit." Tank exclaimed in revelation. "This is all starting to make sense. Ranger's not going to believe this." He rubbed his face with his hand and sat down next to Stephanie. "Bomber, that was Dirk Stevens. A guy. A Navy Seal. He was wrestling with Ranger on the mats in the gym."

Stephanie looked at him totally confused.

"Janie was calling Dirk a 'Nancy'…you know…a 'Pansy'? It's an insult. Janie was egging him on. Think about the noises you heard." Tank rubbed his bald head. "Christ, I'm not paid enough for this shit."

Stephanie thought about the possibility. "Oh! Are you sure?"

Lester was laughing and shaking his head. "Beautiful, you never disappoint. You actually heard two guys wrestling and thought it was…sex? Just what the hell do you and Ranger do together?"

Stephanie looked at him indignantly. "Hey!" She challenged. "Have you ever really listened to two guys going at it on the mats downstairs in the gym?"

"All the time."

Hector appeared at the bedroom door. Obviously Jack had put him in charge of making sure Stephanie's company left after their allotted visitation time. He heard the context of the conversation and raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Well do me a favor, Lester. Tomorrow, go down there and listen. Don't watch, just close your eyes and listen. And then come find me and tell me if you don't think the same thing!"

"Okay, Beautiful, but I don't think you can convince me of it. If you do, I'll…I'll kiss Tank."

Tank shot him a look. "Think again, Santos!"

"Okay then, I'll kiss Hector."

Hector got a huge grin on his face. "Qué hace que usted piensa, ése es algo que gozaría, mi amigo?" (What makes you think that's something I'd enjoy, my friend?)

"Hey, soy un infierno de un kisser. Nunca he tenido una sola queja." (Hey, I'm one hell of a kisser. I've never had a single complaint.)

Hector rolled his eyes and pointed to his watch.

Stephanie's eyes were getting heavy, and she didn't understand their little Spanish exchange, but her interest piqued at the prospect of witnessing Lester kissing Hector. She suddenly felt very tired and let out an enormous yawn. "Guess your time's up guys. I don't think I can keep my eyes open another minute."

"Get some sleep, Steph." They both gave her a kiss on the cheek. Lester turned off the table lamp told her that Hector would be out in the living room if she needed anything, and they left.

Stephanie started to think about the information Tank and Lester had just given her. She got as far as considering the possibility that she might have misinterpreted what Janie what's-her-name said, and then she fell asleep.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

The next time Stephanie woke she knew two things before she even came to full consciousness. A late morning sun was shining through the window, and Ranger was back and holding her tightly against his body. Her initial reaction was one of utter relief and she relaxed into his hold allowing his arms to create the safe place she desperately craved. She was firmly settled in the land of denial. She refused to open her eyes, afraid that both the moment and the tranquil feeling would vanish in the harsh reality the rest of the morning, and her confrontation with the truth, would ultimately bring.

"Babe." His low voice caused his body to vibrate against her back and it sent a familiar tingle down her spine.

"Shhhh. Not yet, Carlos."

His hands were resting on her stomach and she moved hers to cover them so he wouldn't let go. One of the songs Hector had downloaded into her iPod, kept playing through her mind. It was a Paula Cole song called 'Safe in Your Arms'. Paula Cole was not an artist that Stephanie would normally have chosen to listen to, but when Hector had played this song for her, she instantly thought of Ranger and the how he had become so important to her sense of well-being. The song quickly became one of her favorites, and she had listened to it a lot in the last two weeks. At some point in her musings, Stephanie began, absent mindedly, humming the tune to the song, and when she realized it, she stopped.

"That was beautiful. Why did you stop?"

Stephanie rolled over in his arms and faced him. "I missed you so much," she whispered as if it were a secret.

Ranger lifted his hands to her face and rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks. He knew she had slept for several hours, but there were still puffy circles under her eyes and her skin was dull and pallid. She looked tired. "I missed you too, Babe." He leaned in and put the gentlest kiss on her lips, and then he pulled back. "How do feel today?"

"Better."

"Do you still have a headache this morning?"

"No." Her quiet tone and one word answers betrayed her attempts to minimize her true condition.

"Liar." Ranger was the master of one word sentences and he called her on it. "When was the last time you ate?"

Stephanie wasn't expecting that question and it caught her unprepared. "Uh…uh…I don't remember." She didn't want to admit the sugar fest to which she had fallen victim the day before.

Ranger leaned away and reached behind his back to grab the house phone off the bedside table. He lifted the handset and punched a single number. "Ella?" There was a short pause. "Thank you, I'm glad to be back, too. Could you send something up for a late breakfast? Stephanie needs to eat. Something light." Another pause. "Yes, she's still on four. Thank you."

"I'm sorry."

Ranger looked at her with confusion. "For what?"

"Everything," she confessed, looking guilty.

"Babe."

Stephanie could sense the tension in his utterance of her name. It was slight, but it was there. "Carlos, I…"

"Why don't you take a shower, eat some breakfast and then we'll talk."

Stephanie took her shower alone. Miraculously there was shampoo and conditioner in the shower. She hadn't pegged Jack as a conditioner kind of guy, but she had a sneaky suspicion it wasn't his. She'd have to thank Megan or Ella for their thoughfulness. There was even a waterproof cast protector hanging on the towel bar at the back of the tub. Returning to the bedroom, she found clothes lying on the bed. She got dressed in the very comfortable pair of drawstring fleece lined pants and a long-sleeved, scoop-necked t-shirt left for her, and she moved to the kitchen where breakfast was waiting on the small dining table. Ella was already gone. There was a glass of juice and two Advil on her plate. Ranger kissed her on the top of her head. His hair was wet. He must have run up to seven to shower and change.

The waiting was killing her. What Ranger was asking her to do, was the grown-up equivalent of _'Go to your room and think about what you have done, young lady'_. Stephanie's nerves were getting the best of her appetite. She took the pills and tried to eat but couldn't taste anything. She nibbled on a piece of toast and drank her juice. Even the thought of coffee and a donut didn't sound appetizing this morning.

"Babe, you should really eat something." His voice was warm and concerned.

She looked down at her plate. "I can't."

"If you don't eat…"

Stephanie pushed away from the table and stood up. "Damn it, Carlos, I can't eat right now!" She started to walk away but stopped and turned around. "I need to think. I need some answers."

Ranger stood from the table and moved to her side. He tried to take her hand but she pulled away. "Stephanie, what Tank and Lester told you last night was the truth. There wasn't anything going on between me and another woman in DC."

Stephanie sighed and threw her hands in the air. "I know that, Carlos. I know that. There was no other woman in DC. There never could have been another woman in DC. Don't you see? That's the problem?" She couldn't stop the emotional breakdown. "Damn it, I'm so tired of tears!" She walked back to the table and grabbed a napkin to wipe her face.

"I don't understand. What answers do you need? What_ is_ the problem?"

She took the napkin away from her face and took a deep breath. "Carlos, you have done everything right. You have loved me, and you have given me more than anyone ever has. Since we've been together, you have never once done anything to make me question the sincerity of your love for me. But the first time we're apart, and Janie what's-her-name answers your phone, I fall to pieces and practically accuse you of having an affair." She grabbed on to the back of one of the dining chairs. "The problem is; why did I find it so easy to jump to conclusions? Why did I ignore everything my heart was telling me about how much you love me, and take the dark, destructive path I ended up on last night? What's wrong with me that I couldn't have faith in the fidelity of the person I trust most in this world?"

Ranger couldn't bear it anymore. She could barely stand she was so distraught. He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. He pulled back the covers and gently settled her in the middle of the bed. He took off his shoes, socks and belt, climbed in behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "I think you're being a little too hard on yourself. I spoke with Megan and Lester earlier. Megan told me everything you shared with her about what happened yesterday."

Stephanie stiffened in his arms.

"Don't be upset with her. She was trying to help. She doesn't think you realize the state of mind you were in after the run in with Morelli and the conversation you had with Andrew Sullivan." He kissed her on the head. "When did the headache first start?"

Stephanie thought back to the prior day. "I guess right after Lester and I left the convenience store."

"How long did you ignore it?"

Stephanie turned and looked at him. _Damn he knows me so well_. "A while." She sheepishly replied.

"How long is 'a while'?"

"A couple of hours. I laid down and then I took a shower. I thought that would help."

"Did it?"

"No."

"When did it get so bad that you called Bobby?"

"I didn't. I called you instead. I wanted to hear your voice."

"And you heard Janie's."

"Yes."

"Is that when you ran out of the building."

"No...I threw up first."

Ranger sighed very heavily. "So not only don't you remember when you last ate, whatever you did eat, you threw up?"

She nodded reluctantly.

Ranger jumped up from the bed and stormed off to the kitchen. He returned with a glass of orange juice and a plate with some fruit and a piece of pumpkin bread. He set the plate on her lap, lifted her chin and looked straight into her eyes. "I love you, I will never stop. Eat."

Stephanie could see the frustration in his eyes. He seemed to be at a loss as to what to do next. She picked up the bread and took a bite but never took her eyes off him. He set the juice on the bedside table and began pacing back and forth. She had never seen him pace. It looked so out of character for him. It also looked awkward because the room was small and his steps were big. He could only take a couple before he was forced to turn. She swallowed her bite of food.

"Have I broken you?"

Ranger froze mid step and turned to look at her. "You've come damn close, Babe."

She set the bread back down. "I'm sorry."

Ranger didn't mean the words the way they sounded. He climbed back in the bed and sat behind her once again. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her close. He brought the other to the plate, picked up a strawberry and put it to her mouth. She took a bite. "I'm sorry, Babe. I'm frustrated too that you don't seem to be able to get past the idea that what I feel for you isn't real…isn't forever. I don't know what else I can do to make you, not just understand it, but_ really_ believe it, when I tell you I love you."

"Carlos, it's not something you have to do. It's something I have to fix. Something I have to change in me." He felt her inhale and straighten her shoulders against him. She always did this when she was preparing to be brave. "If you think it would be best, I could move back to my apartment for a while."

He lifted the bread to offer her a bite and he stopped mid journey. The thought of her leaving was agonizing. He pushed the plate to the side and turned her to look at him. "It's not something you have to do alone. I'm here for you. I want to work on this _with_ you. And I want you with me…upstairs in our apartment."

Stephanie smiled through a fresh set of tears. "I'd like to stay. I don't deserve you, but I'll work very hard to be stronger for you."

"No, Babe, we'll work hard on being stronger together." He reached for the orange juice and lifted it to her lips. When she finished, he put the glass back down, and he offered her lips something else.

The kiss was warm and comforting. It was a kiss that said; I love you. It was a kiss that said; you are mine for better or for worse. It was a kiss that promised more. And then it was a kiss…that was over.

Ranger pulled back. "Go out with me tonight."

Stephanie was a little dazed. "What?"

"Go out with me tonight." He repeated patiently.

"Like a date?"

Ranger grinned. "Yes, a date."

Stephanie was catching up now. "Okay, what time?"

"Eight o'clock."

"I'll have to check the schedule. Tank may have me down for a surveillance shift tonight."

"Don't worry, I know the boss. You've already been taken offline for the rest of the week. You worked much too hard while I was gone. Tonight we play. Just you and me."

Stephanie was all tingly. _God what this man does to me_. "Okay, then I guess we have a date. Where are we going? What should I wear?"

"Leave that all to me. Just meet me in our apartment at eight o'clock."

"What are we doing with the rest of the day?"

"Right now, we're going to sleep. You're still tired. I can see it in your eyes. I've been up most of the night and could use a few hours too. This afternoon, I'll get a few things done in my office, and you have an appointment with Jack don't you?"

Stephanie had forgotten. She knew it was going to be a difficult session. "Yes, I do, although, I don't know what time yet."

I told the control room to tell him four o'clock."

"Four o'clock? Are you my secretary now?" She teased.

He moved the plate of food off the bed and pulled her down next to him, settling them both under the covers. "Babe, I'm the man who loves you and will try to find a way every day to show you." He kissed her on the head. "Now get some sleep."

"I love you too, Carlos."

"I know."

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	10. Chapter 10

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

It's time once again to publicly thank my wonderful and outstanding beta's; Sonomom and Financebabe. Also my knowledgeable and very patient editor for this story, Majesta Moniet. You give me confidence to post without taking Maalox.

To my dedicated reviewers: Your support is valued beyond measure. I hope that you continue to enjoy the direction of the story. If you don't...let me know!

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 10

When Stephanie awoke again it was mid afternoon. Ranger was gone but there was a one word note on the pillow; 'Eight'. Her headache was gone, and she was ravenous. It was time to go back upstairs to the apartment and get on with her day. She headed to the bathroom and tried to make herself look as presentable as possible, sans make-up, for her trip back up to seven. She was always conscious of the cameras when she was out and about in the building, but after yesterday's escapades she was sure she would be under extra scrutiny by several pairs of eyes in the control room.

Before she left the apartment, she stopped by the kitchen to see what might be leftover from breakfast. Ella had already been there. The kitchen was clean, but she had left a wrapped bagel with a packet of cream cheese and a large bowl of fresh cut fruit. Stephanie grabbed both and headed to the elevator. Her goal was to make it upstairs without running into anybody. No such luck. As she was juggling the bagel and fruit in her good hand so she could push the elevator buttons with her casted one, a freshly showered, incredibly sexy smelling, Lester reached around to give her a hand. He deftly lifted the food from her arms and ushered her into the elevator.

"Seven?"

She nodded. Once inside the elevator, she turned to him. "Thank you for yesterday."

"No problem, Beautiful."

"I wanted to thank Megan, too. Is she still here?"

"No, she had to work this afternoon, so I took her home a couple of hours ago then came back and worked out in the gym for a while before my shift starts."

"You don't have an apartment here. Where did you two sleep?"

"Binkie took off to visit his family for Thanksgiving. He said we could crash at his place."

The elevator stopped, and they both got out. Stephanie looked a little confused as to why Lester was following her.

He nodded at the apartment door. "Need a key?" He jingled his key ring that held a fob for Ranger's apartment.

"Since I don't have a clue as to where my purse ended up last night, I guess I do. Thanks."

He opened the door and followed her into the apartment. He set her food on the breakfast bar and began to unwrap the fruit bowl. Then he walked over to the cupboard and drawers to get a plate and silverware.

Stephanie stood and watched. She recognized the symptoms. Not that the Merry Men weren't always overly accommodating when it came to her needs, but there was a certain edge to Lester's actions, and he was not his normal chatty self.

Lester continued to muddle around in the kitchen. He got a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and set it next to her food.

Finally, Stephanie couldn't take it anymore and decided to lead him into the conversation. "You said you were in the gym today, didn't you?"

"Yeah." He shrugged his shoulders as if it were inconsequential information.

"And?" She prodded.

"And what?" He kept himself artificially busy with the task of removing the wrap from the bagel. He was avoiding eye contact by trying way too hard to find the elusive end of the stubborn plastic.

Yes. She was sure of it now. This was a man about to eat his words.

"Did you…listen?"

"To what?"

"Oh come on, Lester, who was sparring on the mats today? Was it Cal and Hal? 'Cause they're my favorites! Cal's got that deep voice and Hal, well, he just doesn't hold back. I swear if someone from the porn industry ever heard them together, they'd…"

"It was Woody and Cal."

"Oh, well that's a good combination too. Woody's got that whole sexy, Texan drawl going for him, and every once in a while, he makes those, seemingly innocent, but incredibly hot, references to horses and bulls."

"Okay, Beautiful, you made your point. I closed my eyes while I ran on the treadmill and I listened."

"And?"

"And you were right! Good Christ, I nearly fell off the machine. I'll never be able to go one on one with a man on the mats again. You've totally ruined the last vestige of genuine male competition for me. I'd be too self-conscious of sounding like…like…" He rubbed his hand over his face in frustration.

"Like you're having sex?"

"Hell yes!"

Stephanie was smiling and looking way too eager. "So when are you going to kiss Hector?"

Lester held his hands up in surrender. "Now, I'm not trying to renege on a bet, Beautiful. You know I'm good for my word. But I think Hector's got other ideas about helping me follow through. He was in the gym, too, and he told me he didn't _"get involved"_ with straight guys." Lester's body language shifted from defensive to uncomfortable. "But he did suggest a substitute he thought you might accept as an alternative to the deal."

"A substitute? Who?"

"He thought a better choice would be…your Grandma Mazur."

Lester was turning a little green around the gills at the prospect that Stephanie might go for the change in plans. It was an interesting idea, but she decided to spare him any more agony.

"Forget it, Lester. I have to admit I would have enjoyed watching you make good on your bet by kissing Hector, but nothing good could come from making you kiss my Grandma Mazur. There'd be no stopping her once she got her lips on one of my Merry Men. For her it would become a challenge, like flavor of the month. She'd be so excited by one; she'd want to try them all." She gave him a hug. "I got all I needed from you when you admitted I was right."

The relief on his face was priceless. "You're the best, Beautiful." Lester hesitated for a moment and then his face turned serious. "Steph?"

"Hmmm?" Steph responded as she took a bite of the liberated bagel.

"Something you said last night, bothered me."

Stephanie crinkled her face in confusion. "What?"

"You were looking at Janie Tremont's picture and dossier, and you said...she was everything you're not."

Stephanie swallowed her bite of food and took a drink of the water. "Well, she is, Lester. Hell, she could probably give Jeanne Ellen a run for her money."

"You just don't get it do you?" Lester said, shaking his head.

"What?"

Lester sat down on the stool next to Stephanie and took her hand. He stared over her shoulder, took a minute to formulate his thoughts and finally looked her straight in the eye. "Have you ever noticed that I don't call anyone Beautiful, but you?"

Stephanie thought about it. "I guess I haven't. I mean, you've always called me Beautiful. Right from the first day we met. I just assumed you called all women that or some other pet name."

"But have you ever heard me ever call anyone else Beautiful?" Lester was insistent in his questioning.

"No, I haven't."

"Do you know why?"

Stephanie shook her head.

"It's because no one else gets that name. It's yours. It's who you are to me." He ran his hand through his hair as if he was going to reveal a big secret. "When I meet a woman, sometimes there's just a feeling I get from them...in here," he touched his heart. "And a name just comes to me for that woman. It doesn't matter what her real name is. To me she becomes _that_ name. When I met you it was...Beautiful. The name just popped up in my head and out of my mouth."

Stephanie remembered the day they met. She was dressed in old, ratty blue jeans and a t-shirt, and she had no clue what to expect. She felt anything _but_ beautiful. "Lester, Ranger had hired me to come along with you guys to 'redecorate'! My chest was smashed into a flak vest that was made for a man, and you made fun of me because I didn't even have a gun that day. I must have looked like a fish out of water. I know I felt like one."

"Steph, it's not the way you looked, although the expression on your face was cuter than hell when you saw Tank toss that guy out the window," he smiled. "It's...who you are. You're one of the most beautiful people I have ever known. That's why I call you Beautiful. It fits you." Lester smiled at a memory. "When I was a little boy, my Tia Sienta, made the most wonderful pastries and cakes. She always had something special waiting for me when I would visit. She had a warm smile and she always smelled like cinnamon, so I started calling her Tia Sugar. I'm the only one in the family who calls her that and, for me, she's the only one with that name. I don't call anybody else Sugar."

"What about Megan?" Stephanie asked curiously.

"Weeell," he grinned. "Megan has two names. My mind just can't seem to decide between, Gorgeous and Sexy, because...you know...she is." He wiggled his eyebrows and Stephanie giggled.

"Oh, god Lester, what's the world coming to? I think that's the sweetest thing I think I've ever heard you say."

"My point is, you have no reason to ever believe that you are not good enough, or smart enough, or beautiful enough. Janie Tremont is a good soldier and a pretty woman, but _you_ are who Ranger wants, and _you_ are who we love, and we wouldn't trade you for Janie or a dozen Jeanne Ellens."

Tears pooled in Stephanie's eyes. "I know that, Lester. I really do. I just got really confused yesterday, and I'm not going to let it happen again. I promise." She smiled through her tears and hugged him tightly. "You know, I'm a lucky girl to have such good friends around to kick me in the ass when I step out of line."

"Anytime, Beautiful. Any time."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie's late afternoon session with Jack went extremely well. They talked through the events of the day before, and he thought that she and Ranger had come to a good decision about staying together and working on her trust issues as a couple. He reminded her, once again, that she had to learn to trust herself first, before she could trust anyone else.

Jack would be leaving the next day. Stephanie was sad that she would be losing his constant support and the company of a new friend, but he assured her he was always just a phone call away. The relationship he had developed with Hector would ensure that he would be a frequent visitor to Trenton, and he hinted that if things continued between them as he hoped, he might become a resident. That made Stephanie very happy. When Jack left, she was excited about getting ready for her date with Ranger.

It was only five-thirty, so she called her mom and went over a few details for their Thanksgiving dinner. Her mother gave her a list of things they would still need in order to properly serve the large number of guests that they were now expecting. Megan had offered to help, so Stephanie called her and left a message to call her back about going to the mall tomorrow to pick up the items.

After the phone calls, she still had plenty of time to get ready because she couldn't get dressed until Ranger told her what to wear. She spent some time cleaning Rex's cage and then headed into the bathroom to shower, shave and work on her hair and make-up.

At seven thirty she stepped out of the bathroom ready to go. Ranger hadn't arrived yet, so she perused the large walk-in closet to see what might be suitable. She flipped through several dresses she thought might be candidates depending on their destination. She reached the section of the closet that held the large selection of negligees that had been purchased but, most of which, she had never worn. Most nights with Ranger, Stephanie never seemed to make it to the closet for sleepwear. He often had her naked and on their way to bed before they entered the room. After a start to the night like that, taking the time to put on a gown, especially one of these, which were designed to beguile and entice, seemed futile, and she frequently slept naked the rest of the night.

Stephanie stepped out of the closet, looked at the clock and decided she had some time to play. She pulled a few of the gowns out and laid them in a chair near the mirror. She tried on a pretty pink sheer baby doll nightie that had ruffles along the short hem and came with a matching thong. Next, she slipped into the black floor length negligee with the matching robe. It had a deep, plunging bodice, and the back was so low cut she could see the very top of her butt. The third garment was a beautifully romantic, green satin and lace chemise nightie, which Stephanie had never seen before. She took it off the hanger and slid the magnificent piece of lingerie over her head. She practically purred as the expensive, silky material glided down her body like water. She turned to look in the mirror just as Ranger walked into the room.

When Ranger saw her, positively glowing in front of the full-length mirror, it was all he could do to contain himself. Not only was she a vision standing there in that nightgown, she looked well rested and happy.

"Perfect." It was the only word that he could form in his current state.

In three long, purposeful strides, he made it to her side, pulled her into his arms and took her breath away with a very passionate kiss. His lips lingered for a brief moment and then left hers to trail down her neck. He dragged his nose back up to her ear and whispered, "That's just a preview."

He stepped back, guided her to the chair and sat her down. Before she could even respond with her own words, he disappeared into the closet and came out carrying a sexy pair of black and silver, classic, peep toe fuck-me pumps with four-inch heels. He kneeled down in front of her, lifted her left foot to rest against his chest and placed both his hands on her thigh, just far enough under the lacy hemline of her gown to be flirtatious and create a spark to send her hormones racing. He ran both hands down the length of her leg and caressed her foot. "Soft," he said, sporting her favorite wolf grin. He picked up one of the shoes and skillfully fitted it onto her foot. He repeated the sensual foreplay with her right leg.

When both shoes had been placed and buckled, he stood and took her hand once more, lifting her from the chair. With the heels, they were now standing practically eye-to-eye and her lips were just inches from his mouth. Ranger couldn't resist running his hands down her sides over the smooth, glossy fabric as he leaned in and captured her mouth with his. Stephanie immediately opened in response and the, now blazing, kiss ignited the feelings that he had already kindled.

Again he pulled away, slowly removed his hands from her body and left the room. In a matter of seconds, he returned holding her knee-length, black cashmere dress coat.

"Put this on."

When Stephanie saw the coat she protested. "Carlos, where are we going? I can't go out dressed like this! I'm wearing practically nothing. This isn't a …"

Ranger put a finger to her lips and looked into her eyes with a look she didn't recognize. "Babe, do you trust me?"

Stephanie thought of their conversation that morning. When Ranger made a promise, he made a plan and he followed through with it. Trust. That was what this whole evening was going to be about. He was helping her trust. She nodded. "Yes, I do."

She slipped her arms into the coat. He buttoned her up and tied the belt. "Thank you." He whispered against her lips as he leaned in and kissed her once more. "It's time to go." He took her hand and grabbed his jacket on their way out the door.

When they got to the garage, Ranger pushed a button on his key fob and the lights to one of his cars blinked.

Stephanie turned to him and tried to lift a single eyebrow. "The Mercedes?"

"I'm a man with a plan, Babe."

When he opened the door and guided her into the car, a wonderful aroma wafted around her. "Carlos, what do you have in here? It smells heavenly!"

"Dinner."

She turned to look in the back. A wicker picnic basket was perched on the back seat.

"You do know it's November, don't you? It's dark and all of forty degrees outside. Where are we going?"

"Patience, Babe."

Stephanie stopped asking, but she continued to wonder about his plans for the evening. As they drove through Trenton she tried but couldn't come up with a single clue about what he was up to.

She was dragged from her thoughts when she felt the car slow and turn into a small parking lot.

"This is my apartment building."

Ranger pulled into a spot at the very back of the lot near the dumpster.

"Why are we here?"

Ranger turned off the engine and got out of the car. He opened her door and offered her his hand. Once she was out, he closed her door and opened the back door to retrieve the picnic basket. He never spoke a word. He led her through the parking lot and into the building. They took the elevator to the second floor.

"I don't understand why we needed to come here. I haven't been to my apartment in over a month. It's probably filthy."

"Taken care of, Babe." He pulled out a key and opened the door.

Stephanie was overwhelmed by the memories that flooded her mind as she stepped into the familiar space. She wandered past Ranger and strolled from room to room. The apartment was spotless. In fact, it looked better than she remembered. She made her way back to Ranger, who was standing in the small dining room.

"Ella?"

Ranger nodded. "She wanted you to come back to a clean apartment."

Stephanie had a sudden disturbing thought. "Why are we here, Carlos?"

"To have dinner."

"But why here? Why my apartment?" She nervously fidgeted with the belt on her coat. "Have you…have you changed your mind about wanting me to stay with you? Is it clean so that I can move back in?" With each question she asked, her heart got heavier and a knot started forming in her stomach.

Ranger saw her panic and grasped the direction in which she was going with her thoughts. He set the basket down on the table and quickly pulled her close.

"Don't go there, querida. That's not what this is about. Come on; let's eat before it gets cold."

Stephanie repeated to herself that she needed to trust him. She buried the concerns, took off her coat and joined him at the table. Together, they emptied the basket of its contents, and dined on the wonderful food that Ella had prepared.

"I have to admit that it feels nice to be here again. I've sort of missed it. As an adult, it's the only place that was ever just mine. I had a roommate in college, and I married Dickie right after. I lived here for six months before I told my parents I'd lost my job at E.E. Martin."

"So, even though you've had some pretty awful things happen to you here, this is still a happy place for you?"

Stephanie smiled. "Yeah, it is. I mean, I could have done without all the dead bodies, the fires, the intrusions…and the snakes." She wrinkled her nose at that the thought of those horrible snakes.

Ranger chuckled. They had finished eating so he grabbed their wine glasses and refilled them. They moved to relax on the couch. Ranger sat at one end in the corner and Stephanie snuggled into his side.

"I have some pretty great memories of living here though."

"What's your favorite memory?"

"That's easy. It was the night you and I made love for the first time." She leaned up to his face for a kiss.

"What's the worst memory?"

"That's a tougher one to answer. I have two." She shifted so that she was facing him. "One of them is the day after we made love. When you left. The other is when I saw you shot by Scrog at that door." She nodded in the direction of the foyer. With her right hand, Stephanie reached under the collar of his shirt and ran her fingers along the scar that still remained on his right shoulder. She placed her left hand lower, on his chest, where the bullet had pierced his flak vest and broken his ribs. She closed her eyes, and the memory of the incident made her shiver. She opened them and looked into Ranger's eyes. When she spoke again, her words were fractured and weak. "I…thought you were…dead. I'd never felt such complete devastation before. There was so…much…blood and…" Tears were forming in her eyes. Ranger tried to kiss them away.

"Don't cry, mi cariño. I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere." He tucked a single curl behind her ear and kissed her warmly. "I have a surprise for you." He wanted to lighten her mood. "Actually, I have three surprises for you. The first one is why we're here."

Stephanie was intrigued and spoke through her sniffs. "What is it?"

"I know that when you were upset yesterday, one of the reasons you panicked was because you thought you were being left with nothing…again."

Stephanie opened her mouth to say something but, once again, he stopped her with his finger to her lips.

"Just let me finish. I know that when you and Orr divorced, he took everything, and left you homeless and pretty much penniless. That's a scary thing to face, and I don't blame you for never wanting to do it again. I've told you that you have your own money, but I don't think that's enough. I think you should own some property too. Something that is always yours, in your name, no matter what happens between us."

Stephanie nodded. "Okay, I get it. What are you thinking? Do you think I should buy a house?"

"You can do that if that's what you want. But in the mean time, I've gone ahead and purchased something for you to start with."

Stephanie's eyes got wide. "What did you buy?"

Ranger looked around the room. "This."

"You bought my apartment?"

"No, I bought the building. In your name."

Stephanie pulled back from his chest. "You bought this building?" She stood up and spread her arms out to encompass the room. This building? This apartment building?" She ran to the door and opened it. "You bought this hallway and Mr. Wolesky's apartment, and Mrs. Bestler's apartment and the elevator and…and…this whole building?"

"You own the parking lot too."

Stephanie closed the door and returned to the couch. She plopped down next to him still shaking her head. "You bought this building?"

He nodded.

"When?"

"This afternoon."

Stephanie was still a little stunned. "I'm sorry, why did you do this again?"

Ranger put his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "Babe, I want you to have that independence you talked about. I never want you to feel again like you did yesterday."

"Carlos, it's a beautiful idea. Really it is. But how can it be mine if you paid for it?"

"If you want to keep the building, we'll set up a payment system. You can begin making payments to me just like you would if you took out a loan from the bank. If that's not good enough for you, with your job and salary at RangeMan, you will more than qualify for a loan from a bank. You can take out a loan and pay me back immediately, then make your monthly payments to the bank instead of me."

"You wouldn't mind if I did that?"

"Not at all. I can have Brandon Hale take care of all the arrangements for you."

"Who's Brandon Hale?"

"My attorney. He'll help you contact the right people and get the best rates." Ranger was happy that she seemed pleased with his surprise and he lifted her hands to kiss them. "I have to tell you though, Babe, I will offer you much better terms than any bank."

She smiled at his suggestive look. "I'll keep that in mind." She settled back into the warmth of his body. "I can't believe I own a building. This is so cool." She sat up abruptly as an idea popped into her head. "As the owner, do I get to make decisions about remodeling the apartments?"

He smiled. "Absolutely."

"Then that bathroom in there is the first thing on my to-do list."

Ranger laughed. "What else would you like to do with your building?"

"I'm going to give Dillon a raise, and then I'm going to install a top of the line security system for the whole building. After what I've put these poor people through over the years, they deserve a little piece of mind."

"I know a guy in the security business, Babe. I bet I can get you a good deal."

"Thank you." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and settled once again into his arms.

They continued to remain in their cuddly embrace, quietly enjoying the moment together. Ranger ran his fingers up and down her arm and played with the fingers on her casted hand. Stephanie was deep in thought, contemplating the reality of being a landlord.

She was reluctant to break the peace and quiet, but after a few minutes she couldn't stop the curiosity bubbling up from inside. "Carlos?"

"Hmmm?"

"What's the second surprise?" She asked as innocently as she could manage.

"That took two minutes longer than I estimated." He teased.

Stephanie playfully slapped his arm. "You know I have no patience for surprises. But you insist on torturing me with them on a regular basis."

"I can't help it, Babe; you draw out my playful side. It's fun to watch you squirm."

"I'll show you squirming. I'll squirm right on over to the other end of this couch." She made a move and he grabbed her by the waist and refused to let her go, despite her playful attempts to escape.

"Do you want your second surprise now or not?" He threatened, in a low voice directly into her ear.

She immediately gave up the fight and turned back to look at his face. "Yes, please."

Ranger set her back from his side and slid off the couch. He went to the dining room to retrieve his jacket.

"Are we leaving?"

"No." He reached into the front pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. He never took his eyes off hers as he kneeled down in front of her for the second time that night.

When Stephanie caught sight of the box, her jaw dropped and her heart stopped beating. A million confusing thoughts ran through her mind within seconds, and she couldn't take her eyes off his gift bearing hand.

"Babe, tesoro de mi corazón (treasure of my heart). What I have in the box is up to you to give a name and meaning to. For me it is a symbol of my never-ending love and trust, which will last throughout this lifetime and into the next. If you accept it only as a gift and believe that much from it, I will be the happiest man on earth." He lifted his free hand to her face and cradled her cheek. "But if you take it and call this ring, promise, engagement or wedding. I will be that much happier. I need you to understand that you are my love, my breath and my light. I make all my decisions with you as my top priority. I don't need an official or a ceremony with witnesses to coax the words from me. I love you now; I'll love you tomorrow; I'll love you forever, and nothing will ever change that. I promise to honor you and cherish you and protect you to my dying breath."

By the time Ranger had finished his stunning soliloquy, Stephanie had tears streaming down her face. Not only was she moved beyond the ability to speak, she could barely breathe. When he opened the box, the gasp she produced used up the rest of her precious air supply.

Ranger was still holding her face and he rubbed his thumb across the ball of her cheek. "Breathe, Babe." He chuckled lowly at her stunned response.

"Carlos," she finally managed to produce some sound, "It's...it's...it's absolutely the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

He took the ring from the box and placed it on her open palm.

Stephanie gazed in awe at the circle of intricately carved platinum, adorned all the way around with evenly set diamonds and sapphires.

"It's yours, Babe, however you choose to accept it."

She tried to sniff some of the tears away. "I love it. It's beautiful." She lifted the ring off her palm and held it out to him. "Will you put it on my finger?"

Ranger took the ring and waited for Stephanie to make her choice.

Their eyes were locked in silent communication. She could see the love and anticipation in his. He could see the staid deliberation in hers. Ranger's focus was so fixed on deciphering the answer through her eyes, he didn't notice until the tips of her fingers touched his own, that it was her left hand which hung suspended before him.

The purest of smiles broke his solemn face. "Babe." He carefully supported her casted hand with his right one, and the honor of placing the ring on her finger fell to his left. When it was firmly in place, he moved both hands around her waist and pulled her toward his, still kneeling, body.

He kissed her wet lips, her wet cheeks and murmured joyful Spanish phrases. Stephanie still didn't know what any of them meant, but she didn't need to in order to have her favorites; the ones that, when spoken against her skin, triggered small vibrations that shot straight to her core.

"I love you, Carlos."

"Dios, mi querida, te amo también." Ranger stood and lifted her off the couch. He ravished her with kisses and touches and Stephanie gave as good as she got. He slowly backed them to the dining room, never allowing more than an inch of separation between their bodies. He reached down to one of the chairs and picked up her coat. When he started to slide it over her shoulders, she stopped kissing him and looked up.

"What are you doing? I have plans for you and they don't involve putting more clothes on!"

"Third surprise, Babe."

"Can it wait?"

"Not on your life."

Stephanie smirked. "You've been a very busy man today."

"I'm about to get a whole lot busier."

They put their coats on and made their way downstairs, out the lobby door and through the parking lot.

"I don't understand why you parked way back here by the dumpster. We passed several empty spots closer to the building when we came in. Where are we going?"

When they reached the car, Ranger led her to the passenger side, opened the back door and motioned her to get in.

"Here?" She looked around to gauge the possibility of an audience.

"Babe, I've parked in this lot more nights than I can count. The only cars that came and went after nine o'clock were yours, mine, Morelli's or your latest stalker's. Every one in that building is asleep. Get in."

Stephanie didn't need to be told twice.

Once the two of them were both comfortably ensconced in the back seat, the engine was running, and the heat was warming the car up nicely, Ranger pulled Stephanie into his lap and placed a kiss on the ring that adorned her hand.

"Babe, you asked me to put this on your left hand."

"Yes, I did."

"Why."

"You said that it was up to me to give a name and meaning to this ring. If I remember my 'Burg' etiquette correctly, a promise ring is given to signify a commitment to a monogamous relationship, and an engagement ring is given, and worn to show that two people have made a pledge to spend their future, building a life together. I want that with you. I want it on my left hand because that's the hand that leads directly to my heart. I want my trust and my heart on the same side this time."

"So you'll marry me, Stephanie Michelle Plum?"

"Yes, Ricardo Carlos Manoso, I will marry you."

"I love you, Babe."

"I know."

Ranger slowly untied the belt on her coat, opened the buttons one at a time and slid the coat off, kissing his way across her shoulder as it fell. Stephanie slid his coat off and started opening the buttons of his shirt.

Ranger pulled her into his naked chest. "I can't get enough of your beautiful skin, amada." He slid the straps of her gown down her arms and kissed his way to the lace that ran just across the tops of her breasts. While his mouth was busy nipping and kissing the tender skin, his hands had moved to her hips. This silky fabric was no challenge to his demands, and it easily glided upward and gathered at her waist to reveal her supple thighs and smooth bare ass.

Reminded of their last time in this car, Stephanie made to turn her back to his chest, but he stopped her.

"No, Babe, I want to see your face." He pulled her back and kissed her. Their tongues danced together, no battle for control, simply an in sync display of mutual desire. His hands were firmly anchored to her exposed cheeks and she groaned in approval as he slid them down the backs of her thighs and shifted her to straddle his lap as he sat back against the seat. He used his teeth and nose to push the green satin away, leaving her left breast exposed. The glorious torture he created with his mouth sent a deep current of ecstasy straight to her womb and it tightened in anticipation. When the stimulation forced her to arch into the ravishment, he moved to her right breast and the repetition of his measures inspired her moans to amplify.

Ranger loved the way her body responded to his touch. He reveled in his ability to draw new reactions and new sounds from her every time they were together. Tonight he was in no hurry. He wanted to explore and tease. He wanted to elicit every ounce of pleasure from her that was possible before sending her over the edge. Right now, he had all the power. She was under his spell, captive to his strategy and that's just where he wanted her.

But Stephanie had ideas of her own. She slid slightly back on his legs to reach between, and started on his pants. He stopped her with his hand.

He continued his amorous assault, but moved his mouth to her neck so he could speak between kisses. "Babe, slow down. We have all night. There's a full tank of gas."

"Carlos?"

"Yeah, Babe,"

She grabbed his face with her hands to get his attention. "You've been gone for two weeks. Two WEEKS! You've had me hot and bothered beyond all rational thought for the last three hours. No more Mr. Romantic! Make love to me now!"

Ranger chuckled and the vibration against her groin nearly made her cum. "You're not going to be one of those nagging, demanding wives are you?"

She put her hand back on the zipper of his pants. "Only about sex. I'll want it often and I'll want it hard. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Hell no."

"Then what are you waiting for, soldier?"

For a split second, he was back in boot camp and face to face with his drill sergeant; but Stephanie was a lot sexier.

"Yes, ma'am."

His plans for a lengthy, sultry seduction quickly dissolved under her sudden command. Somewhere in the back of his mind, way back, he speculated that this shifting of power would be an unremitting tendency in their relationship. God, he loved this woman!

He removed his hand from hers and she continued her mission. His mind wasn't the only thing that had resigned to her authority. His freed cock stood at attention, ready to engage in the campaign, at her order.

Happy with the position of the troops, Stephanie mounted her horse and led the charge. She rode him hard and she rode him fast, demanding in her domination, until the only option left was surrender.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Author's Note: I could definately use some feedback on this chapter. The lingerie and the three surprises were all Ranger' s idea. I swear he had complete control of this chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's note: My mind is still reeling from the terrific response to the last chapter. Fanfic readers certainly love their romance!

I do answer all of my reviews when possible. But to those of you who submit anonymous reviews and leave me no way to respond privately, I send my thanks for your kind words in this more public forum.

Again, many thanks to my betas, sonomom and financebabe, and my editor, majesta moniet.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 11

After their quixotic tryst in the Mercedes, Stephanie and Ranger spent the rest of the night in her apartment. It didn't sport the exceptionally comfortable king-sized bed, but it did have a set of fantastically expensive, three thousand count sheets, thanks to Ella…once again. And because they weren't interested in having any space, whatsoever, in between their bodies, size didn't matter…at least when it came to the bed.

It was near dawn, and Stephanie was still floating somewhere between the dream world and reality; although she would be hard pressed to distinguish the difference between the two in the last twelve hours. She mused that Ella was like the fairy godmother in Cinderella. She had taken her very basic apartment and turned it into a romantic hideaway. Her closets here, and at Ranger's, were magically filled with beautiful clothes that fit perfectly. Her refrigerator was stocked with an assortment of food that refrigerators like hers only dreamed of containing. Sometime, in the middle of the night, they had raided the kitchen and recharged on fruit, cheese and a variety of scrumptious little puff pastries. Some filled with spinach and mushroom, some filled with crab and some filled with lemon or chocolate. The midnight snack was perfect with the champagne they found chilling in door. If Ella was her fairy godmother, then Rex! Oh god, Rex would be turned…like the little white mice…into a…and…Ranger was her prince charming? She shook her head to rid herself of that image. It was nearly impossible to picture Ranger in a crown, cape and those cute little stockings and boots. She adjusted her wild fantasy back to something she could actually visualize. He was Batman. Yes, The Dark Knight, that was much better. And Ella was…Alfred? She'd have to work on that one.

"I smell something burning there, Babe. Care to share?"

A little giggle bubbled from her throat. "You don't want to know. Believe me." She lazily stretched against his body, like a cat waking from a mid-day nap. "Sometimes my thoughts are best left unspoken. They can be a little scary; even to me." She rolled on top of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Are you really sure that you want to marry me?"

Ranger wasn't quite sure if she was serious or not. It was one of the few times he wasn't able to read her thoughts by the look on her face. So he took it as a challenge and flipped her over onto the bed and covered her with his body; her hands held hostage over her head. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life." His words were spoken with an indisputable sincerity. "If you're having second thoughts…"

"God no!" She quickly answered then she looked a little insecure. "It's just that…I'm…I'm a lot of trouble. Everything in your life is always so logical, organized and predictable and…mine is chaotic and messy. Maybe you'll get tired of that."

Ranger wasn't going to let her go down this path. "Babe, I happen to like your chaos and unpredictability. It keeps me on my toes." He kissed her lips as she thought about his answer. "Besides, logical and organized is just another way of saying boring and lonely. You ask any of my men, they'll tell you. I'm a better man…a happier man…a stronger man with you in my life."

She smiled at his statement. "I'm going to remind you of those words the next time you find me knee deep in garbage, being hounded by my latest stalker or sitting on the curb next to my most recently torched car; or when I end up in the emergency room after chasing a skip out a window and down a fire escape that breaks away and dumps me on my ass."

"You won't have to. You're incredibly sexy when you're covered in garbage." He kissed her neck. "Your stalkers remind me of just how desirable you are, and that I'm damn lucky that you're with me." He kissed her shoulder. "Your skips are absolute idiots for running away from you instead of taking the opportunity to spend time in your presence, and if you fall on your ass, I'll kiss it, and make it all better." His kisses were moving south.

"What about the car?" she breathlessly replied.

"It's just a car, Babe. As long as you're not inside, I can live with that." His mouth found her breast and that was the end of the discussion. Stephanie completely forgot what she was talking about anyway.

It was late morning by the time they made it out of the shower and managed to get clothes on. They discovered the spinach and egg casserole and blueberry muffins left by Ella and sat at the dining room table to enjoy them with coffee.

"Do you have a busy day planned, Babe?"

"Megan and I are going shopping today. We have some last minute things to pick up for tomorrow. My mother gave me a list. It's her way of keeping me away from the food preparation. I think she's finally given up on the idea that I might ever make a decent cook." She put her fork down and took a drink. "You said that when you got back from DC, if nothing more had turned up, we could talk about losing my babysitters."

"I did."

"Well?"

"Tank reported that there has been no new information. However, the incident in the bar…"

Stephanie jumped in. "I did the research myself. That girl had nothing to do with me. She didn't even look like me. She was blond and…very busty."

Ranger smiled at her last remark. "I know. Tank happens to agree with you."

"That she was busty and I'm not!" Stephanie teasingly feigned insult.

His smile widened. "No, amada. He agrees that she probably had nothing to do with you."

"So Megan and I can go shopping alone?"

"Curtis still has you on a driving restriction."

Stephanie was so excited she jumped up from the chair and kissed his lips quickly. "We'll take my car, with the tracker, and Megan can drive. I'm going to call her." She ran to get her purse and immediately realized that she didn't have it. She turned back to Ranger who was already holding out his cell phone. She took it. "Thanks."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie and Megan motored out of the RangeMan garage, leaving Ranger and Lester nervously behind. The two men stared at the empty ramp as the gate lowered, both thinking the same thing: Now would be a prime opportunity to place a bet on the time and type of the next Stephanie emergency (even if neither one of them was willing to admit it out loud). After a brief moment of quiet reflection, they turned simultaneously and headed toward the elevator.

"I noticed that the Mercedes is on the board for another interior detailing, Boss."

"What about it."

"That's twice this month."

Ranger just gave him the 'don't go there' look.

"I'm just sayin', it's a little unusual for your cars to need that kind of attention isn't it?"

"Do you enjoy spending time with me on the mats, Santos?"

"Actually, that's not my favorite activity these days."

"Then drop it."

"Sure, Bossman. Anything you say." He knowingly grinned behind his friend's back.

When they reached the fifth floor, they went their separate ways. An hour later Ranger showed up at Lester's desk. "The new client, Harper Industries, called. They're a little concerned about the location of a couple of the security cameras we installed. I thought maybe you'd want to ride over there with me and take a look."

"Hector can take care of that. He's the one that installed them. Why don't you ask…"

Ranger cut him off. "Harper Industries is the new client located on Brunswick Pike."

The light bulb went on in Lester's head. "Ohhh, the new client that just so happens to be located only a couple of miles from the Quakerbridge Mall?"

Ranger nodded discretely.

"Sure, Ranger. Good idea to have someone from upper management address their concerns. Shows we really take their business seriously." He nodded as he gathered his equipment. "Maybe afterward we can grab a bite to eat. I hear there's a new restaurant in the food court."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

In addition to finding the items on the list, Stephanie and Megan took the opportunity to do some personal shopping as well. They had accumulated quite the baggage.

"Steph, why don't you let me carry some of those bags? You shouldn't be putting that kind of stress on your left wrist."

"I think I'll take you up on that. It's really been bothering me today. I think I might have over done it last night, with Carlos."

"That's right." She giggled. "Last night was his first night back. I'm sure he kept you very busy."

"Yes, but we were also celebrating." Stephanie held up her left hand.

"Steph, is that a…?"

"Engagement ring."

"Oh, my god! He asked you to marry him?" She took Stephanie's hand in hers to examine the ring. "Oh, Steph, It's beautiful," she gushed. "It's unusual for an engagement ring, with the stones all the way around, but it's absolutely stunning. Congratulations!"

"Well, Carlos is an unusual man. Thanks." Stephanie couldn't wipe the smile from her face.

"When's the wedding?"

"You know, we haven't even discussed it."

"Do you think you'll wait long?"

"I don't think either one of us is in a big hurry. We've had a lot going on in these past couple of months. I think we could both use some nice normal down time, now that the threat of anyone coming after me seems to be over."

Megan took some of Stephanie's packages and changed their direction. "Why don't we go get a pretzel at Aunt Annie's to celebrate?"

Twenty minutes later, Stephanie had finished her pretzel and took a final sip of her drink. "Megan, if you don't mind, I'm going to run into Claire's. I want to pick up something for Julie. Maybe some earrings or a necklace."

"Sure, just leave your packages here, and I'll wait. I could use the break anyway. My feet are killing me in these shoes." Megan looked down at her heels. "I know they look spectacular, but they weren't a good choice for shopping."

Stephanie took off, and as soon as she was out of sight, a tall, blond-haired man took her seat at the table.

Megan looked up at the intrusion. When she realized who it was, fear and panic gripped her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm getting impatient, Megan. Things should have gone better Saturday night. Manoso was out of town. I wanted to be done with this before he got back." He checked his cell phone for an incoming text, dismissed it and returned to the conversation. "I take it you got my pictures?"

Megan was clearly distressed. She was nervously looking around, but when he mentioned the pictures, she froze. "Yes."

"Did the poor little slut look familiar?" he taunted. "You know, it could very easily have been your sister. I can get to her anytime; and those beautiful little nieces of yours."

"I couldn't help it," Megan replied defensively. "So many of the RangeMen showed up. They wouldn't let her out of their sight."

"What about today?" He snapped. "You're still alone with her? No security?"

"Yes."

"Good girl. I don't care how you do it, but I want you to figure out a way to get her to go out to the car alone. I need to see her alone."

"What are you going to do?" She asked with a worried look on her face.

"Don't worry. Miss Plum and I have some family business to take care of." His slimy smile made her nervous. "Then your family will be safe. I promise."

"You won't hurt her?"

"Just get her out to the car, Megan." His voice was sharp and threatening. "I'll be watching and waiting. Don't force me to get angry with you. You know what I'm capable of." He stood up and walked away.

When Stephanie returned she was carrying another bag. "Found just what I was looking for."

"Listen, Steph, there's just one more store I'd like to pop into, but it's on the second level. Are you up to it?"

"Sure, let's go."

They reached the escalator and started the long ride up. When they got near the top, Megan made to step off and caught her heel on the tread. She fell to her knees in pain.

"Oh, my god! Megan, are you alright?" Stephanie helped her to her feet but Megan was unable to put weight on her left foot. She noticed a bench not too far from where they were standing and she guided Megan to it.

"I'm such a klutz. I told you these shoes weren't so good for shopping." She tried to laugh through the pain, but wasn't very convincing.

"Do you think you can make it to the car? You should have that looked at. It will start to swell."

"Just give me few minutes. I'm sure it's nothing, Steph. It I just sit here and work it out, I should be fine." Megan wiggled her ankle and grimaced at the pain.

"Megan, the car is parked pretty far out in the lot. Give me the keys, and I'll take the packages out to the car and drive it up to the door by the fragrance department in Macy's. It's the closest one. I'll come back in and help you out. Okay?"

Megan battled with herself. She was torn between what she had seen in that bathroom Saturday night, the implied threat to her sister and nieces, and the unknown danger to her new friend. "Okay, Steph, but be careful please." She dug through her purse for the car keys and handed them to Stephanie. "Watch out for strangers."

Stephanie smiled. "Yes, mom! Geez, you're starting to sound like one of the guys. Lester will be so proud of you for being so safety conscious! Just wait here and take it easy. I'll be back before you know it."

Stephanie walked toward the escalator. As she made her way through the mall, she pulled out her cell phone and called Ranger.

"Yo, Babe."

"Hey, Megan twisted her ankle pretty badly on the escalator, here in the mall. I just wanted you to know that I'm going to take her to that Immediate Care place just a few blocks from here. I thought maybe you and Lester could meet us there."

"Is she okay?"

"She's in a lot of pain."

"Babe, you're not supposed to be driving. Wait for us to get there."

"Carlos, it's only two blocks. I think I can manage that. Honestly, it's not like I don't remember how to drive." She sounded insulted. "I'll be fine. Just meet us there. Gotta go!" She hung up before he could argue further. She dropped the phone into her purse and continued through the mall toward the exit nearest her car.

Ranger closed his cell phone and returned to the small group of men standing with Lester. He made apologies to the client, telling them an emergency had come up that he and Lester needed to attend to. They agreed to the proposed changes and assured them that Hector would return to take care of it.

"What's up?" Lester questioned him with concern in his eyes.

"Megan has twisted her ankle. Stephanie wants to take her to the Immediate Care Clinic near the mall, and wants us to meet them there."

"Steph's not supposed to be driving."

"I'm hoping we can get to the mall before they leave."

The two men folded themselves into Ranger's Cayenne and pulled out of the lot. Ranger contacted the control room.

"Manny, where is Stephanie's car located right now."

"It's still sitting in the north side of the parking lot of the Quakerbridge Mall, boss."

"Let me know if it moves in the next ten minutes. We're en route."

"Will do."

A few minutes later, Ranger and Lester pulled into the mall entrance and headed to the northside lot. They hadn't heard anything from the control room.

"Maybe she decided to wait for us after all," Lester commented.

Ranger called Stephanie's cell phone but didn't get an answer. They continued to follow the long stretch of roadway around JC Penney's and spotted Stephanie's car, in the distance, at the far end of the lot, with the back tailgate open.

"There's Beautiful," Lester observed, spying her trademark curly locks. "Looks like she's loading some things into the back. Megan must be in the car already."

They watched as Stephanie reached up to close the tailgate and walked to the driver's door. She opened it, and got in the car. Ranger tried once more to call her phone to let her know that they were almost there. Before the first ring resonated in his ear, a loud explosion thundered and Stephanie's car erupted violently into flames. The blast was so strong that the car was turned on its side and parts of it were thrown across the lot, crashing down on vehicles several parking spaces away.

"Jesus." Lester cried as he rapidly opened his phone. "Control," he yelled. "Get fire and ambulance units to Steph's location."

Ranger sped up and got as close to the car as he could. He slammed on the brakes, shifted into park and leaped out of the car. He rushed toward the burning vehicle, desperately battling his way through the smoking and flaming debris.

One thought consumed his panicked mind; _get her out, get her out, get her out_.

Regardless of the heat and scorching flames, Ranger made his way to the driver's door which was now against the ground. He fiercely kicked at the shattered, blackened glass in the windshield trying to dislodge it. When that action failed, he fell against the hot glass frantically searching for any sign of Stephanie inside. He pounded against the window and screamed her name over and over again.

Lester rushed out of the car to join Ranger in the rescue. It only took a moment for him to realize the futility of the effort. He grabbed Ranger by the sleeve and feverishly tried to pull him away from the fiery danger.

Ranger fought Lester's attempts and cursed at him to let him go.

In the distance, sirens sounded. But they would be too late. The car was fully engulfed in flames and it was obvious, beyond any doubt, that no one inside that car could have survived.

Lester finally got a strong grip on Ranger's waist and was able to pull him back from the inferno. Breathing heavily and fighting his own emotion, he murmured in anguish, "Ella ha ido, Carlos. Se van. Oh Dios, Se van." (She's gone, Carlos. They're gone. Oh God, they're gone.)

They both sunk to the pavement in defeat...the roar of the flames and sirens the only sounds...the smell of burning steel and rubber filled the air with it's foul odor...heavy black smoke billowed, unrestrained, toward the sky. Oblivious to their painful burns, they leaned against each other in shock at their loss.

Ranger sat with his head buried in his hands. His pain was beyond anything he'd ever felt before. It was as if a great fist had punched through his chest and pulled his heart from it's cavity. It now lay bare on the pavement, burning in the flames.

The sirens got closer and a crowd began to form.

Lester didn't even know how to begin to mourn. His newfound love...Megan. His Gorgeous…his...Nurse Sexy. Her sweet smile and her loving touch still vividly clear in his mind. Gone. He wrapped his hands over his head and stared at the carnage in unbelief. Compounding his pain, his heart also ached for the loss of his good friend and confidant. His Beautiful. In the blink of an eye, his world had evaporated. All that was good and had brought light to his existence had been taken away in a cruel and vicious act of violence.

"Lester?" He quickly shot his head around at the sound of the familiar voice.

"Megan? Oh, god." Startled and breathless, he pushed himself up and stumbled to her. "Megan, baby, you're safe." He pulled her into a tight embrace, tears threatening to fall.

"Lester, what happened? My god, what happened to the car? Where's Stephanie?" Megan was frantic. She took in the chaotic scene before her and knew the answer without being told. She sunk to the pavement in grief, dragging Lester down with her. "She told me to wait inside. She told me she would bring the car around to pick me up. Tell me she wasn't in the car, Lester. Tell me she's not…."

"Sh, sh, sh, bebé, está bien. Ella no sufrió. Sucedió rápidamente." (baby, it's alright. She didn't suffer. It happened fast.) He held her tight, and together they rocked back and forth, and wept.

Ranger was unaware of how much time had passed. He was unaware that a fleet of black RangeMan vehicles had surrounded the scene in a wall of protection. He was unaware of Bobby's attempts to tend to his wounds, while the medic fought his own painful emotions. He was unaware of Tank's stalwart presence, his immediate organization of the scene, and his awkward, but sincere, words of comfort and reassurance. He could only stare at what remained of Stephanie's car. He could only stare and pray to God that what he had witnessed was just a nightmare from which he would wake at any moment.

The scene was somber as the necessary work was done. There wasn't a man or woman on the fire and ambulance squad or police force that didn't know Stephanie Plum. They had all been witness to at least one of her many spectacular tragedies. They had all read the stories in the papers. They had all listened to, and shared in the spreading of, the rumors of her antics, her stalkers and her relationships with Morelli and Ranger. Most of them had participated in the endless betting pools that resulted in the exchange of money at most of her disastrous crime scenes.

No currency was changing hands today.

No humorous quips or friendly inquiries were rolling off the tongues of these professionals.

For as much as they enjoyed the entertainment of her life; they were grief-stricken and dumbfounded by her death. Not one of them had been immune to the admiration of her amazing resiliency to the worst of circumstances. Her 'never say die' attitude. Her enthusiasm for the job.

Stephanie Plum was a Trenton original, and she was gone.

The Merry Men were at a total loss. They stood wordless, helpless at the scene. Each turning within himself to deal with the death of their beautiful comrade and the overwhelming grief of their fearless leader. Some remained slumped against their vehicles, staring numbly at the senseless devastation before them. Others refused to look at the wreckage, preferring their memories to be of her dynamic smile and crazy sense of humor.

Regardless of their inclination, their hearts were frozen and heavy, and no one was prepared for the reaction they witnessed when Hector arrived. His SUV careened into the parking lot and slammed to a stop. The face on the man who exited was hard and pained. He didn't hesitate to cross the police tape and enter the secured area of the crime scene. His rapid Spanish was almost undecipherable as he beat his hands against the hot, steel crypt in an anger so fierce, the emergency personnel pulled back to give him space.

Tank nodded at two of his men and they surrounded Hector with arms raised in surrender, trying to calm him with words of understanding and support. He either refused or was simply unable to acknowledge them. Jack finally stepped out of the vehicle and approached, gently touching his arm and speaking softly to Hector, until he relented and collapsed in quiet sobs as his true grief surfaced.

A white Jeep Cherokee wheeled up to the scene and Joe Morelli stepped out. He was dressed casually and must have been called while off duty. His grim face sought out one target. He barely gave the charred car a glance as he made a beeline for the man he blamed for this tragedy. He didn't get within ten feet of Ranger before two RangeMen stepped in between him and his destination.

"Get out of my way," he growled at the men in a threatening voice.

"Now's not the time, Morelli," Tank uttered calmly, as he joined the barricade.

"Now's exactly the time. It's the scene of the crime. He's here. The number one suspect. The guilty party." His arms were flailing, and the words spit out of his mouth like acid, poised to burn.

"You can't possibly believe Ranger had anything to do with this." Tank put a hand on Morelli's chest to restrain his forward progression.

"He had everything to do with this. It's because of _him_ that she's gone. It's because of _him_ that she's no longer breathing, living, laughing. He drew her into his dangerous, scary world. He may not have pushed the button or lit the fuse, but he sure as hell is the reason she's dead." He was up in Tank's face, his eyes burning with hatred; his words seething in anger.

Ranger's men were getting tense.

Eddie Gazarra and Carl Costanza stepped up. Nobody wanted a scene. Nobody wanted this to escalate into a brawl. Eddie put a hand on Joe's shoulder.

"Joe, this is tough for everybody. Back off, man. Let it go."

"Back off?" he stared at his friend incredulously. "He killed Stephanie, and you want me to back off?" He turned his anger on his brothers in blue. "God damn it, Eddie, you loved her too. How can you stand there and ask me to let it go?"

"Morelli, save this for another day." Carl nodded toward the car. A tow truck was being hooked up to what remained of Stephanie's car. In a matter of minutes it would be righted and the investigation would continue. Everyone held their breath as the screeching sounds of twisted metal pierced the silence. As gentle as they wished the process to be, the callous thud of the wheel-less rims hitting the pavement, sent a searing pain shooting through everyone's heart. A black sheet was placed over the driver's side of the car and the, now somewhat cooled, door was wrenched open with a large heavy tool.

That was the final straw for Joe Morelli. He'd watched as the woman he loved walked away from the life he was offering and into the deadly path of Carlos Manoso. With a strength seeded in anger and grief, he pushed his way past the RangeMan barrier and reached for Ranger. Tank's firm grip on his shoulder and another against his gut stopped him in his tracks.

"I said not now, Morelli." The calmness still remained in Tank's voice, but it was strained and laced with implied threat as he held Morelli in a painful clutch.

The two men stood face to face; neither one giving in to the challenge.

"Let him go." The sound of Ranger's voice stunned everyone. He hadn't spoken at all to this point. His voice was pained and resigned. "He's right. It's my fault. If it wasn't for me she'd still be alive. She was my responsibility. I failed her." He pushed his way past Tank, never taking his eyes off Morelli.

This was the first time since his arrival that Joe had taken a good look at Manoso. He was shocked to see the always cool and self-possessed, Man in Black looking broken and shattered. He caught sight of the bandages covering his hands and the burns on his face, and at once became cognizant of the efforts that must have caused the damage. He backed off slightly in his resentment.

"You have every right to blame me." Ranger totally submitted to Morelli's scrutiny of the situation. There was no posturing, no egotistical contest, no rivalrous antagonism on his part. They shared a common loss. He offered him a common goal. "Have her parents been notified?"

Joe let out a deep sigh. "They haven't been notified, officially, yet. I can't guarantee the 'Burg' grapevine hasn't kicked in."

"I'd like to go there now. I want them to hear it from me. I think it would help if you were there, too." Ranger looked at Joe with a broken soul. His eyes barely in focus.

Joe hesitated. He wanted to hate this man. He wanted to blame someone for the devastation he felt, but he conceded that Manoso was right. Stephanie's family needed to come first. "All right, I'll follow you."

Ranger took one last look at the scene. He wanted to stay, but Stephanie wasn't here anymore. She was gone. His love, his breath, his light…had left, and he would not be the same ever again. He followed Hal to one of the SUVs and got in. Tank would stay behind to oversee the investigation and manage the men. Lester needed to take care of Megan, and Bobby needed to take care of Lester.

As Ranger was driven away, a special forensics team moved in to begin their work. They would painstakingly collect Stephanie's remains and transfer them to the morgue.

The rest of the Merry Men stayed behind as well.

She would never be left alone.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	12. Chapter 12

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's Note: I'm sorry that so many of you have been left with anxious worry over Stephanie's surprising demise. If you left me a review, I probably warned you about the contents of this chapter and the next. They were difficult to write, but necessary. If you weren't warned, you may want to get up and find a tissue before you read.

Again, I have so much appreciation for the reviews left for the last chapter. I thought that my betrayal of your trust may have forced some of you to quit reading. I hope you still have faith that this story can take you to a place that is both moving and rewarding; despite any direction you may have originally expected or anticipated.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 12

When Ranger and Joe pulled up in front of the tiny 'Burg' house, the sun was just beginning to set, and a few flakes of snow were swirling around gray, foreboding skies. Ranger didn't exit the car immediately. He took a few minutes to gather his thoughts. When he was finally ready, he nodded at Hal who got out and opened his door. The bandages on his hands were limiting his dexterity. Morelli was already waiting near the door to his own car. Together they crossed the street and walked up the front sidewalk to the porch.

Helen Plum was busy in the kitchen. It was almost dinner time, and the house had been unusually quiet. Her mother was upstairs dressing for another evening of bingo with her friend, Ethyl Meznick. Frank was in the living room watching TV. There had been no phone calls from friends or either one of her daughters since she had spoken with Stephanie earlier in the day. The many details for the next day's events were running through her mind when she heard the unmistakable sound of car doors closing. She wiped her hands on her apron and walked to the front door to peek out the small window. She saw Joe and Ranger coming up the sidewalk together, and a worrisome knot formed in her stomach. It was a combination of company that she didn't expect to ever see arriving together. The only thing they had in common was…Stephanie; and she was clearly not with them. She opened the door to get a better look. As the men got closer, the bandages on Ranger's hands and the looks on both of their faces told her more than she wanted know.

"Frank!" There was almost no force behind the name as chest tightening fear consumed her breath. She reached a hand to her heart and tried again. "FRANK! Oh, god, FRANK!" The rising panic in her voice summoned him quickly to the door. "It's Stephanie, Frank, something's wrong."

By now, Ranger and Joe were less than three feet away, and Helen Plum held the storm door handle firmly in her grip. By not opening it, she could prevent what was coming. By not opening it, things would never change. She stared at the two men through the door as if they were harbingers of evil, and the glass barrier was her only safeguard.

Frank reached his hand over his wife's and lowered the handle off its catch. He pushed the door open, and their world changed forever.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Ranger was exhausted. He sat, blanketed by the darkness, slumped in the leather chair near the large paned window of his seventh floor sanctuary. A more than half-empty bottle of tequila precariously dangled from two exposed fingers of his left hand. He'd lost track of how long he had been sitting there. It didn't matter. He was alone, and that's all that was necessary right now.

He hadn't been able to take anymore of the required social etiquette at the Plum house. He had left that to Joe. Morelli understood those customs and had been willing to stay._ It had only taken minutes after their arrival that the phone calls had started, and the door bell had begun ringing non-stop, as the news of Stephanie's death spread to friends, neighbors, and family. It may have been a comfort to them, but it was suffocating to him. He couldn't take the questions, the well-meaning words of condolence, the tears. When her nieces had arrived, that had been it. He could do it no more. He had seen the look of loss and confusion on their young faces and had been unable to go on with the expected role he had been playing. He had discretely pulled Frank to the side and had explained as best he could to a grieving father, why the man, who loved his daughter beyond measure, couldn't remain another minute at the house in which she had grown up. Frank had simply patted him on the back with a nod and given him permission to leave; to go and mourn in private. He had been thankful for the reprieve, slipped out the back door and had Hal return him to Haywood._

There was a knock at the door, but Ranger didn't answer. He knew it was either Tank or Bobby. The only ones brave enough to interrupt his solace, and they both had keys. After a few moments, he heard the door open and soft footsteps glided across the hall tile and then the living room carpet.

Ranger tilted his head back in acknowledgement of his visitor. The bottle was carefully removed from his hand. He thought about fighting to keep it, but it wasn't worth the effort. He had already gotten what he needed from it.

"How about we exchange this for something prescribed?" Bobby's words were soft and careful.

"Seems to be doing the job." The rough tone of his own voice surprised him.

"I need to check your bandages, Ranger. You don't have to get up. I do need to turn on a light though." The warning came too late, and the bright light from the lamp made Ranger turn his head.

Ranger's mind may have been drifting in a desolate fog, but he knew that Bobby's evaluation of his condition was not going to be limited to his physical injuries. He was a good medic and knew how to judge the mental welfare of a soldier as well.

Bobby set his bag down and got to work. He slowly unwrapped the bandages on Ranger's left hand and assessed the blisters and cuts. "Was that a full bottle when you started?" He casually inquired.

"May have been. Don't remember."

"Ella has some dinner for you. I don't think you've eaten in a while. Can I tell her to bring it up?"

Ranger didn't answer.

"Your burns look good. I'm concerned about a couple of these cuts though. You might need some stitches."

"I'll live." Ranger pulled his hand away from Bobby's inspection. He wasn't worthy of help. He didn't want to be healed. "How's Lester?"

"He'll be fine. Just a few minor burns. Not as bad as yours." Bobby continued to push. "Why don't you come down to my office and I'll take care of those stitches for you?"

"I like it here. It's quiet."

"Okay, we can move to the dining room table. I can work there."

"Just wrap them back up, Bobby. You can leave a few pills, or the whole damn bottle, or whatever the hell you want." Ranger's agitated response mirrored his body language as he sharply turned away from Bobby's concerned scrutiny.

The last time Bobby had needed to take control of Ranger's well-being had been when Stephanie was in the hospital, and he had pushed himself to the brink of exhaustion and worry over her condition. Helen Plum was the one who had stepped in to straighten him out. That wasn't going to be an option this time. But he had a back-up plan. He treated both hands and rewrapped them. He picked up the tequila, walked into the kitchen, poured the remaining alcohol down the drain and threw the empty bottle into the garbage. He then made a quick phone call and waited for reinforcements to arrive. It took five minutes.

"Ranger?"

Ranger's eyes shot open at the familiar, sweet sound. He sat up in his chair, and spun his head to see the beautiful, young girl innocently standing in the middle of the room. He hadn't even heard her approach.

"Julie!"

"Is it true? What Uncle Lester told me about Stephanie?"

Ranger was still shocked at the appearance of his daughter. He had forgotten that she was due to arrive this evening.

"Dios, Julie, how did you get here?"

"When we landed in Newark and no one was there to pick us up, the pilot made a phone call; then he drove us here. He wouldn't tell me anything." As Julie got further into her story, she became more upset. "Uncle Lester met us in the garage and took me upstairs. He told me…about…the car…and the fire." Tears were running down her cheeks now. It reminded Ranger of Stephanie's nieces and their inability to comprehend her death. They had looked so shaken and forlorn. He reached out for her and she ran into his arms.

"It's true, mi pequeña, she's gone." He clutched his daughter tightly with his bandaged hands, and for the first time he allowed his own tears to find their release.

Father and daughter remained in their embrace for several, silent moments consoling one another. It wasn't until he spoke, that Ranger even realized Tank was in the room.

"Ranger, I have a report." Tank was trying his best to sound routine and normal when everything was anything but.

Ranger tucked his daughter's head into his shoulder and looked at his second-in-command with a nod to continue.

"I've notified Rachel, she and Mr. Martine will be on the first flight out of Miami tomorrow. I'll know more about their exact arrival time later tonight. I had Max book them, and our other guests from Miami, a suite of rooms at the Marriott downtown.

"Other guests?" Ranger's mind was mush and he couldn't think.

"Tony Barnes, his guest Cindy, and his sister Emily. They came on the plane with Julie."

Ranger remembered now. Stephanie had been so excited about their arrival. She was really looking forward to having a houseful of guests for Thanksgiving. "Thanks, Tank."

Tank didn't move. He continued to stare at Ranger. "There's more."

Ranger understood. "Julie, why don't you go into the kitchen and see if Bobby can find you a drink and a snack?"

Julie sat up. "You want me to leave the room so you can talk to Uncle Tank about things you don't want me to hear, don't you?"

Ranger produced a weak smile at his perceptive child. "Yes, for just a moment."

Julie took her father's face in her hands and gave him a stern look with her tear-swollen eyes. "I'll go, but after you're finished, you have to promise to let Uncle Bobby fix your hands, okay?"

Ranger was taken by the ease in which Julie demonstrated her authority, and he acquiesced. "All right."

She kissed him on the cheek and slid off his lap. Before she walked away, she turned back to her father and carefully took his hand. "I'm going to miss Stephanie, Ranger. I really liked her a lot. She saved my life. I want to be brave like her when I grow up."

"She liked you too, niña. She thought you were already very brave." He patted her hand. "Rex is in the kitchen. See if you can find a treat for him."

Julie smiled at the mention of Stephanie's furry friend, and ran off.

Ranger watched as she disappeared into the kitchen and then turned his attention back to Tank.

"What do we know?"

Tank cleared his throat which had clearly been choked-up by the emotional scene played out before him.

"I spoke with Miller from the bomb squad. His guys are working overtime on this. Early indications are that it was a remote detonation, not a timer and not tied into the ignition. Their estimate is that the detonator couldn't have been more than three hundred yards away from the car. We've already received copies of all the surveillance tapes from the mall for the day. I have three guys pouring over them, as we speak, looking for clues.

Ranger nodded. "Anything else?"

They believe the explosion originated from the car's interior, not under the body or the hood. That's why the damage to the passenger area was so fast and…complete."

Ranger nodded again. He sat still and quiet for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was shaky and weak. "Where…is she now?"

"She's at the…morgue. Hector and Jack are there. Hector won't leave, and no one at Trenton PD has the balls to make him."

Ranger closed his eyes and leaned back into the chair.

"I'll have more tomorrow," Tank finally added.

"I know."

"What do you want to do with Julie tonight? Several of the guys that left for the holiday have come back. We don't have anything open on four. Ella and Louis have also cancelled their plans to leave and said she was welcome to stay with them on six."

"She'll stay with me, here on seven."

Tank nodded. "I'll send up her bags." Tank hesitated before he continued. He stepped closer to Ranger's chair and put a hand on his shoulder. "Carlos, this wasn't your fault. She loved you, man, and she wouldn't want you to blame yourself for this."

Ranger turned his head to the large window. "She was my responsibility, Tank. She was my…" He pounded his bandaged fist into his leg. "I asked her to marry me last night…and…I couldn't keep her safe for twenty-four, god damned hours!" He collapsed dejectedly back into his chair. "I should have left her with Morelli. I should have loved her enough to keep away from her."

"You're wrong, my friend. You loved her more than she thought possible, and she told Morelli that very same thing. She told him that you made her happy. She didn't regret her choice to be with you."

Ranger didn't respond.

It was the best he could do for his friend at the moment. Tank patted Ranger's shoulder one last time and turned to go. He stopped by the kitchen on his way out to let Bobby know he could finish his work on Ranger's injuries, and then he left.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Thanksgiving Day was dreary and cold. Rachel and Ron Martine showed up at Haywood before noon to collect Julie and move to the hotel rooms Tank had procured for them.

Decisions needed to be made. Frank Plum called and asked if he could come by with his wife. They wanted Ranger to be part of, and included in, the decisions for Stephanie's service. He appreciated the gesture and was physically present when they arrived with the priest, but his mind wandered frequently during their visit, and the finalization of most of the details fell to Helen. He was cognizant enough by the end of their meeting that he knew the memorial service was to be held on Saturday morning at St. Anthony's. After the mass, there would be a short graveside service at the family plot in the church's cemetery.

Because of the holiday, details of the ongoing investigation filtered in slowly during the day, but Tank dutifully kept Ranger informed. By mid-afternoon, Ranger had reached his limit of social contact with his men, the phone calls, and the gifts of condolence that were flooding the office. Once again, he retreated to the seclusion of his apartment. He was tired, but couldn't sleep. He paced the floor of the apartment from window to window, taking in the view of Trenton from every direction. He wanted to be out there looking for the bastard who did this, but that would come in time. Stephanie came first. He needed to spend this time thinking of her; remembering her smile, her smell, her voice, her touch. He'd avoided all contact with her things. He hadn't wanted to disturb anything she had touched. If it wasn't moved, or disturbed or changed, she was still there. He'd had Julie sleep on the couch and he had slept, what little he could, in a chair. He had only entered their bedroom to retrieve his own clothes for the day. The large, comfortable bed, which before the curly headed girl from the Burg stormed into his life he had once relished as his sole domain, held no such pleasure for him anymore. Now, it taunted him as a cold, vast reminder that he was alone and missing the best part of his world.

Ranger's heart and mind were tattered and frayed beyond repair. He briefly considered calling Jack, who had graciously extended his leave in order to make himself available to anyone in need. In the end, Ranger decided to maintain his solitude, and he sank down on the couch to turn on the TV, for no other reason than to have the noise drown out his thoughts. The remote control was not on the coffee table, and remembering that Julie had been there that morning; he began searching around the couch cushions for it. When he still came up empty-handed, he continued his search by opening the small drawer in the end table. The remote wasn't there, but he found Stephanie's iPod tucked inside. He slowly lifted it from its secret place and held it in his hand. He smiled at the memory of Stephanie telling him the story of why Hector had given it to her. He clumsily placed the buds in his ears and pushed the play button. The first song to play was Stephanie singing at the cabaret. He didn't expect that, and it was simultaneously both blissful and torturous. He closed his eyes and allowed the sound of her voice to fill his head. He took a page from her book and permitted the song to take him to the land of denial for a few short minutes.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Saturday morning came all too soon. Ranger had not slept most of the night, and long before dawn he left Haywood to run. He ran the route to Stephanie's apartment and then the long stretch to the Quakerbridge Mall, where he stood for over an hour staring at the scorched pavement; the only reminder left of the terrible thing that had been done there.

He returned to his apartment where he showered, shaved and decided not to ask Bobby to replace the bandages this time. He would wear gloves to the funeral. Ella had been up already this morning and had laid out a black suit and tie, shirt and shoes. He was grateful for that because it meant he didn't need to think or go into their closet. He dressed quickly and was sitting in the living room drinking coffee when the house phone rang.

"Yes."

"Sir, Detective Morelli is here to see you. I would have directed him to Tank or Santos, but they're not here yet."

"Send him up."

Joe stood at Ranger's apartment door feeling very uncomfortable. He was wearing a suit. Something he hadn't donned in a very long time. He'd had a hair cut, at his mother's request, and despite two showers, he could still feel the itching along the back of his neck.

Now, he was standing at the door of a place he had only imagined in his worst nightmares. Manoso's apartment. Whenever he and Stephanie had been in an off-again phase in their relationship, he had worried that she had been drawn here, and he had tortured himself with detailed images of what they might have been doing together. Since their official break-up, it was a given as to what she had been doing here. That was a painful reality for a man like Joseph Morelli; a man who had spent the majority of his life playing the field, changing women like he changed his clothes. Never getting rid of any of them, and coming back frequently to the ones that were comfortable and easy to wear. Stephanie had changed all of that. Not right away, but as their relationship developed, so had his outlook on his future. His desire to settle down and stabilize his life had become a priority, and he'd thought he could convince her of that as well. He'd been wrong.

He absent mindedly put his hand in his suit pocket and tightly grasped the objects inside. The last time he had seen Stephanie had been at the bar where he was investigating the homicide of that young girl. He wanted to kick himself for the way he had treated her. He had been angry, and he had let his Italian temper get the best of him. He should have called her the next day to apologize. It was one of his biggest regrets. He was hoping his visit here this morning could, in some small way, make amends.

The door opened, and Carlos Manoso stood before him.

"Morelli." Ranger nodded as he stepped back from the door.

"Manoso." Joe followed him into the kitchen.

"Coffee?"

"Thanks." Joe took the cup to give his hands purpose. He took a sip, and the two men stared at each other for a long moment.

"Something important bring you here?"

"I have information."

"About the investigation?"

"No."

Ranger waited for him to continue.

"It's about the funeral this morning."

That got Ranger's attention. He put his cup down on the counter and gave Morelli an 'I'm listening' look.

"For the past two days, the rumor mill has been buzzing with activity. I've got cops getting calls, at all hours, from informants, and it's all been about Stephanie's funeral."

"What kind of information are they passing on?"

"Not what. Who." Morelli put his cup down and ran a hand through his hair. "We've been given the names of at least a half dozen major crime families that are expected to be represented at this funeral. Christ, Ranger, I've had calls from the FBI, the CIA, the ATF, and the DEA. They're all seeing activity moving into Trenton, and they want to know what the hell is going on. And locally, we got word late last night that the Slayers have taken an interest as well. The gang unit can't answer the phones fast enough."

"Do you think there's going to be trouble?"

"Hell, I don't know what to think. Every one of those agencies is sending agents to Trenton to keep an eye on things. Everybody's nervous. It's a volatile mix of company, and between the good guys and the bad guys, there's going to be a hell of a lot of fire power under all those black suits." Joe let out a heavy sigh and braced both his hands on the counter. "I shouldn't be telling you this stuff, but I thought you should be prepared." He shook his head and produced an almost chuckle. "Christ, she's still drawing the crazies. This has the potential to turn into a very messy circus today." He turned to face Ranger and look him straight in the eye. "I know you're looking for revenge, Manoso. Hell, so am I. But her family deserves to have this day go smoothly. They shouldn't have to deal with this shit."

Ranger gave him a hard stare back. "Understood. What are the names of the families you've been told to expect in attendance?"

Joe turned, leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. "Two are no surprise. Vinnie's father in law, Harry the Hammer, and Connie Rosolli's uncle, Carmine Gambetti. We figure their attendance makes sense. Vito Grizolli, we also know plans to be there. I talked with Terri Gilman, and she says he's going 'just to be seen'. Like it's the god damn Oscars or something." He shook his head in disbelief and continued. "Three heavy weights, Alexander Ramos and Dominic Bilotti. The CIA and the ATF are very interested in those two. The last one is Eddie Aurelio. The DEA is having fits that he's even in the country. After that whole mess with Dickie Orr, I thought Trenton was the last place he'd be seen. We have no clue as to why he's here."

"I think you're right about Vinnie's and Connie's families. They're both Trenton based, and Stephanie has had contact with them on several social occasions. Alexander Ramos is a 'friend' of Stephanie's. He's in town on business, and I'm sure he just wants to pay his respects. Bilotti is the uncle of the man that Stephanie was responsible for apprehending on her last assignment. He worries me. Give me some time on Aurelio. I'll have my men see what they can come up with on the Slayers. I have several men with connections to Stark Street."

Joe snorted. "I'll bet you do."

Ranger took offense at the slam and gave Joe a hard look. "Anything else, Morelli?"

Joe had the decency to look ashamed at his own snide remark. "Yeah, one more thing." He slowly slid his hand into the pocket of his suit jacket and removed a closed fist. "I talked to the Bill Pauzek, the coroner. He owes me a favor, and he knows how I feel...felt about Stephanie. He let me go through the pieces of personal evidence that came in with her...remains." His voice started to crack. "There wasn't much. These have been photographed and logged, so he didn't feel the need to keep them withheld any longer. I didn't recognize them. I thought you...might. I thought you should have them."

Joe opened his hand and gently placed the scorched and twisted items on the kitchen counter.

Ranger looked, but didn't say a word. He couldn't.

"I guess I'll see you at the church." Joe turned and let himself out the door.

Ranger remained standing at the counter for several minutes. Eventually, he stretched one finger to the small pile of treasure. He flipped the warped metal disc. There was just enough of the original design left to make out the image of a woman; Joan of Arc. The second item was more difficult for him to behold. Its once delicate, circular pattern was now mangled and melted, almost beyond recognition. If it hadn't been for the sparkle of the blue and white stones as they caught the light from over his head, he would not have known it to be hers. When he had placed it on her finger just a few short days ago, he thought it would remain there forever; a symbol of his love for all to see. Now it had been returned to him, without any of their friends or family having ever seen it or having known of its existence. There had been no time for congratulations or celebration for their commitment to each other.

He closed his hand around them and put them in his pocket.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

"I have it boss!" Ranger turned from his position at the window as Zero burst into the room looking relieved.

"Explain."

"Eula Rothridge is…was…one of Bomb…Steph's regulars. She's the bag lady at the bus station. Steph probably brought her in half a dozen times. She's the reason the Slayers, or a least a small, but impressive contingency of them, are planning to attend the funeral."

Ranger was still baffled. He didn't see the connection.

"When the big shake up in the hierarchy of the Slayers happened last year, guess who landed on top as the head of the new regime on Stark Street?"

"Richie Stone."

"Yeah, boss, and Richie Stone is, evidently, the son of Eula Rothridge. Word on the street is that Eula is forcing her son, and his 'associates', to make amends for the trouble his gang caused Stephanie during the Junkman nightmare by showing respect for her at her funeral. Seems Steph helped Eula out with food and money. She even checked on her during bad weather to make sure she had what she needed."

Ranger nodded. He never failed to be amazed at the unusual connections his babe seemed to make. Her funeral would be attended by everyone from the Mayor of Trenton, to the bag lady from the bus station; from some of the most dangerous and notorious crime figures on the East Coast, to federal agents from at least four different government agencies.

"Is Tank in yet?"

"Yes, sir, he's in his office."

Ranger nodded again and Zero stepped out. He made a brief call to Morelli and gave him the information. He looked at the clock on his desk. It was time to go. He stood, slipped his gun into the back of his waistband, put on his suit jacket, his mirrored aviator sunglasses, grabbed his black, wool topcoat and left the office.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	13. Chapter 13

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's note: To all of you who have stayed with this story, despite the emotional heartache caused by the last chapter, I thank you. If you can stick it out through one more heart-wrenching day, I promise you will begin to see the direction this story is going to take.

**About a third of the way through this chapter there will be a reference to the song 'My Immortal' by Evanescence. If you are not familiar with this song, I strongly urge you to take two minutes to pop over to youtube(dot)com and type in a search for it. Just close your eyes and listen to it. It is one of the most emotional and moving songs I've ever heard and it was a great inspiration to me for writing this chapter. I think you will find it will add to your reading experience. **

As always I would love to hear from you after you've read this chapter.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 13

The church was crowded. Ranger took a seat in the front row with Stephanie's parents, her Grandma Mazur, her sister Valerie, Albert Kloughn, and their girls. Behind them sat Connie and Woody, Mary Lou and her family, and Vinnie and his wife. Lula, Megan, Adria, Eddie's wife Shirley, and Jack, sat in the opposite front pew, which was being held in reserve for the pallbearers. The rest of the RangeMen were scattered, as ordered, throughout the church. Tank had made arrangements for men to be brought in from the Boston office to maintain the RangeMan accounts for the day.

The organ in the balcony began playing the first few notes of a sad, but familiar, hymn as Stephanie's casket, led by the priest, was carried in by Tank, Lester, Bobby, Hector, Joe and Eddie Gazarra. They set it reverently on its stand and took their seats next to their grieving loved ones.

It was a traditionally solemn requiem mass and when it was over, the throngs of mourners followed the casket to the cemetery. Ranger struggled to maintain his composure while being surrounded by the emotional outbursts of Stephanie's family and friends. Helen Plum was staunchly holding her own, but had a death grip on her husband's hand. Frank Plum, although still quite attentive to his wife, carried a manner of despondency that made him look uncharacteristically vulnerable. Edna Mazur looked older and more fragile than Ranger had ever seen her appear before. Her trademark sassy demeanor was gone. Her red eyes and wrinkled face reflected only the pain and deep sorrow of a woman who never expected, or wanted, to outlive her own granddaughter.

Ranger took a few moments to scan the large crowd assembled. Lester stood behind Megan, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. The stress and suffering of the last few days clearly evident in their faces. Tank was supporting a devastated Lula. Connie had her head buried in Woody's chest. The tell-tale shake of her shoulders betraying her private need for comfort. Jack stood slightly behind and to the side of Hector, a protective arm on his shoulder, vigilantly watching for any sign of the emotional overload that lingered just below the surface.

At nearly 6'7" in his black heels and donning a fur-collared coat and netted, pillbox hat, Sally Sweet stood head and shoulders above the surrounding mourners; his expression choked with grief and a hankie pressed to his face. Further into the crowd, Ranger saw a patchwork of faces that represented Stephanie's legacy as a bounty hunter. Mooner and Dougie, Carol Zabo, Susan Stitch, Melvin Pickle, Carol Cantell, and Loretta Rizzi were among those he could put a name to. All former FTA's that she had helped and befriended.

Eula Rothridge stood proudly in her moth eaten coat. She was surrounded by at least half a dozen Slayers, who nervously eyed the large contingency of the Trenton PD represented. The cops, typically animated in Stephanie's presence, now stood somber at the loss of one of their own. Those who were on duty, were keeping a sharp eye on the gang accompanying Eula.

Off to the side, a small and fragile cluster of senior citizens, whom Ranger recognized from Stephanie's apartment building, stood bravely combating the bitterly cold wind. A group, he imagined, that having reached their golden years, had seen more than their fair share of senseless death and tragic loss in their lifetime.

On every face, Ranger saw evidence that the brilliant light, which Stephanie had brought to their lives, had been ruthlessly extinguished.

Just as he was about to return his attention to the Plum family, Ranger caught sight of Andrew Sullivan. The man who had buried his own wife barely six months ago, stood near the back of the mourning crowd. His expression was unreadable at the distance, but his gaze was firmly focused on Ranger.

The priest took his place at the graveside and began to speak. At some point during the service, Ranger felt the tug of a small hand as it slipped into his. He didn't need to look down to know that his daughter was there to comfort him. He squeezed her hand in acknowledgement.

Solace was offered, sustaining and consoling words were spoken, and with the blessing of the priest and a final prayer, Stephanie Plum was laid to rest.

Ranger's anguish remained hidden behind his sunglasses as he laid a single red rose on her coffin. His hand remained connected to the solid mahogany casket and he couldn't let go. He remained there, unable to move, unwilling to say goodbye, incapable of leaving her to the cold and dark.

Several minutes passed and no one knew quite what to do. Bobby remained guardedly close, but was giving him space and privacy. Tank and Lester looked at each other and wordlessly debated whether or not to intervene. Helen Plum could not watch any longer. She was so consumed by her own grief that her husband gently guided her toward the road to their waiting RangeMan vehicle. Julie stood next to him, lost and confused; tears streaming down her face...helpless to cope with the unfamiliar emotions emminating from her father. Rachel stepped forward, took her hand and led her daughter away in a comforting embrace.

When Ranger's hand began to shake, it was Edna Mazur who stepped forward and put an arm around his waist. She murmured something only he could hear and slowly guided his hand away from the casket. He reluctantly stepped away and nodded his head at her words. They stood together a minute longer, whispering their final goodbyes. Finally, they turned away from the grave, and Ranger escorted his unlikely counselor across the rough, frozen terrain of the graveyard and saw her safely to the car. Before she climbed in, the old woman looked at Ranger, pulled him into a final hug, and through her own unrelenting tears she quietly spoke. "I'm going to miss my baby girl, Carlos, but don't ever regret that you helped her to fly. That was something even I couldn't do for her."

Carlos acknowledged her words with a kiss to the old woman's cheek and settled her into the back seat. As he turned to locate his own ride, he noticed Alexander Ramos waiting nearby with a small group of men. Ranger had questions and wanted answers. Ramos was probably his best chance to get them. He took a moment to compose his emotions and stepped toward their gathering.

"Carlos, I can't tell you how sorry I was to hear about our beautiful Stephanie. My heart is heavy with sadness and bursting with rage at the terrible thing that was done to my Kopelia."

Ranger nodded his appreciation of the condolence. "Tell me about your guests. You've made a lot of people nervous today." He tilted his head casually at a couple of Feds in the distance who were carefully observing their exchange.

Alexander took Ranger by the arm and turned him to walk away from the crowd. "I meant no disrespect, Carlos, but I brought, what I hoped would be, peace of mind for you. I know you are concerned about Dominic Bilotti, but he had nothing to do with this. I asked him to come today, as a favor to me, to prove that to you. He will answer all of your questions."

"What about Aurelio?"

Ramos scoffed in disgust. "Achh! Aurelio is a leech. He's trying to expand his influence into New York. He came all this way to speak with Dominic. Wants a partnership. I can tell you that won't happen." He shook his head in distaste. "Drugs are messy…and the overhead! Dominic and I have no interest in that."

They continued walking on in silence. Ranger recognized two more groups of alphabet agency spectators. Now that the crowd of mourners had thinned out, they were becoming quite obvious. He knew that Ramos was aware of their presence as well, but the old man took it in stride and didn't look worried.

"Carlos, when you find who did this. When you find the bastard that took her life. You tell me. I'll take care of him for you. No evidence. No connection back to you."

Ranger stopped and extended his hand to the old man. "I appreciate that, Alexander, but it won't be necessary."

Alexander nodded in understanding. "Today is not the day for such decisions. Tomorrow or the next day, maybe you change your mind. The offer remains."

Ranger returned to the driveway where the large congregation of RangeMen and their fleet of vehicles were waiting. Ranger approached the men and personally thanked them for their unfailing service and love for Stephanie. In a rare moment of openly displayed sentiment, he embraced each one and shook their hands. When he came at last to his three closest friends, Tank, Lester, and Bobby, the hugs lasted just a bit longer and were just a bit tighter. As he stepped away, Tank handed him the keys to the Porsche and gave him a nod. No other words were spoken.

Ranger headed to his car. Standing by the open driver's door, was Hector. Ranger removed his sunglasses and looked at the man before him, whose broken heart and spirit were borne plainly upon his face.

"Usted era su hermano y protector, Héctor. Nadie la amaba más que tú. ¡Gracias, mi buen amigo." (You were her brother and her protector, Hector. No one loved her more than you. Thank you, my good friend.)

"Si lo hubiera hecho mejor mi trabajo, mi corazón no le faltaría una pieza larg hoy." (If I had done my job better, my heart would not be missing such a large piece today.)

He pulled Hector into an emotional grip and then clasped his hand.

Ranger folded himself into the driver's seat, started the engine and sped away.

When the car had disappeared through the cemetery gates, Hector looked down at the scarred but familiar metal disc that had been bequeathed to his hand.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Ranger didn't have a destination in mind when he left the cemetery. His only plan was to get away and drive. Driving was cathartic for him. The smooth, quiet power of the engine, the endless open road, the isolation from the world, solitude; it all allowed him the opportunity to think. Stephanie had called it his 'zone'.

He'd been driving for more than an hour. Perhaps it was chance. Perhaps it was some veiled corner of his mind that directed his subconscious, or perhaps it was Stephanie, ethereally guiding him toward her own favorite place to find comfort and solace. Whatever the provocation, he found himself pulling into the parking lot near the boardwalk at Point Pleasant.

He sat for a few minutes, taking in the view. It was cold. There was no sun, but the flurries which had materialized earlier in Trenton were absent here. There was an elderly couple bundled up and walking arm in arm along the long stretch of beach in front of him. In the far distance he could see a man playing Frisbee with a large dog. The rest of the beach was deserted.

Ranger grasped the door handle and got out of the car. He walked to the edge of the parking lot, stepped onto the sidewalk and headed to the shore. The wind was calm, but the breeze off the ocean, combined with the temperature, produced a biting tingle on his exposed skin. He removed a glove, reached into the pocket of his overcoat and pulled out Stephanie's iPod. Before he had left the apartment that morning he had noticed it sitting on the table in the living room. At the time, he didn't know why, but he picked it up and put it in his pocket. Now, in this place, he was glad he had it. He wanted to be here, in her favorite place, listening to her voice. He placed the ear buds, started the song and continued to walk along the beach.

In a few short minutes the song was over, and Ranger reached to shut off the device. His still injured fingers were stiff from the cold, and he accidentally shuffled to another song. He attempted to shut it off again, but the soothing sound of a solo piano made him pause. When the vocals began, he stilled.

_I'm so tired of being here, suppressed by all my childish fears_

_And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave_

_Your presence still lingers here and it won't leave me alone_

_These wounds won't seem to heal; this pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have all of me_

Ranger was completely awestruck by the words and the emotional pull of the song. It spoke of his pain and the life he had discovered with Stephanie. He closed his eyes. The music and the deep vibrations of the crashing waves worked in tandem to strengthen its effect on him.

_You used to captivate me by your resonating light_

_Now, I'm bound by the life you left behind_

_Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams_

_Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me_

_These wounds won't seem to heal; this pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have all of me_

The hauntingly familiar sentiment clawed at his heart and, once again on this devastating day, he was unable to bridle his heartache and anguish. He turned toward the ocean, and allowed the wind to spit cold, salty tears onto his face; mixing with his own, warmer ones.

_I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone_

_But though you're still with me, I've been alone all along_

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have all of me, me, me_

This time when the song ended, he was able to turn it off. He removed the ear buds and slid the iPod back into his pocket. His fingers brushed against the small, deformed ring. He removed it and gently rubbed a finger over its rough edges as if, by Braille, he could glean a secret message from its surface that would answer the question of just how the hell he was supposed to go on without her. He took one last long look at the ocean and started to walk away, but in a symbolic attempt to shed some of his pain, he turned back and threw the ring into the rolling waves of the sea.

His sun was gone, and his heart had eclipsed into total darkness.

…XXX...XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Following the graveside service, several of the Merry Men headed right back to RangeMan. They all felt a strong commitment to themselves, Ranger, and most of all, Stephanie, to find out who was responsible for her death. They set aside their overwhelming grief. There would be little rest until the perpetrator was found.

Lester was possibly the most ardent of them all. He loved Stephanie, and that was key in his motivation. But he also felt the guilt of having his woman found safe at the scene, when Ranger was grieving so deeply for his. He knew Megan could very easily have been lost in the blast, but she was still here, in his arms at night. They had not separated since the incident. Megan had taken an emergency leave from the hospital and had maintained her presence at his side, taking care of his every need.

Until they had a more complete report from the bomb squad, the surveillance tapes were all they had to go on. Lester had spent the last hour looking at vehicles that entered the parking lot, writing down license plate numbers, when possible, and adding them to a search list.

More RangeMen were painstakingly viewing the interior surveillance tapes. Megan had given Lester a store by store itinerary of her and Stephanie's trip through the mall that day. Hector, Hal and Tony Barnes were cataloguing every frame in which the two women appeared, in hopes that they would observe or recognize someone following them. Tony had volunteered to come in to work the case until he, Cindy, and his sister Emily, had to return to Miami on Sunday night. Cindy had left her store in the capable hands of her assistant manager, but needed to get back to relieve her on Monday.

Lester was tired, and frustrated at the tediousness of the work. The security camera images were grainy, and most plates were unreadable. He stood up and took a walk to the break room. Megan was in there trying to be useful. She had been helping Ella keep up with the demand for food and drinks. Her hands were shaking and Lester noticed. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her into his chest.

"Hey, what's the matter, Gorgeous?" Lester took hold of both her hands to steady them. "Baby, you're shaking like a leaf." He turned her around to face him. "You look so tired, why don't you lie down for a while? I'll ask Bobby if you can use his…"

Tears were coming from her eyes, but she cut him off. "Lester, no!" She pushed him away. "Everyone is working so hard, it's the least I can do to…this is all my fault."

"Honey, what are you talking about?"

"It is my fault!" She adamantly responded. "If Stephanie hadn't been with me she wouldn't be dead."

"Megan, everyone is tired, you just need to take a …"

"Lester, you need to listen to me…I can't lie to you anymore. I have to tell you the truth." She was begging him with her eyes to pay attention. She looked scared.

Lester was suddenly very still. He wasn't sure what Megan was going to say, but he knew it was serious. "Okay, Gorgeous, let's go down the hall to Ranger's office, where we can talk."

After Lester shut the door, he and Megan sat down together on the couch. Megan tried to talk, but when she looked at his worried, trusting face, the words wouldn't come. She stood and walked to the window where she could focus on the cold, still city instead.

"When Stephanie was in the hospital in Philadelphia, and I was working as her nurse, I was approached by a man. I don't know his name. He stopped me at my car one day after work and told me to get in the driver's seat. I thought it was a car jacking. He had a gun. I got into the car and waited for him to tell me what to do. He pulled a set of pictures out of his pocket. One of the pictures was of my sister Allison, and the others were of my two nieces. He told me that I had to do exactly what he said or they would be hurt. He said he knew where they lived, worked, and went to school, and he could get to them any time he wanted."

"What did he want?" Lester's face and voice were full of concern.

"At first, he wanted information. He wanted to know about Stephanie's condition and how she was being protected. Every couple of days he would contact me and ask for updates. When it looked like Stephanie was getting well enough to go home, he told me that I had to find a way to keep giving him information. He wanted me to get close to her and develop a friendship with her so that I could tell him where she was, and how she was doing. Every time I objected, he would remind me about my family and how he could make them suffer." Megan was crying now. "I was so scared, Lester, I didn't know what to do." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "The next day Carlos had those pies delivered for Stephanie and the nurses. You had been flirting with me, and I realized that it would be the perfect way to stay connected. So…I…flirted back."

Lester dropped his concerned look and immediately replaced it with his RangeMan standard issue 'blank face'.

"Don't hate me, Lester," Megan begged in a forced whisper. "You've become so important to me in so many ways. I didn't…"

"Finish your story," he said coldly, cutting her off.

Megan swallowed her disappointment and continued. "After she left the hospital, he contacted me daily. He wanted to know if she had her memory back yet and if she was still healing from her injuries. He wanted to be told if she ever left the house or was left alone."

"Did you give him that information?"

"Yes. When I could." Megan's response was riddled with guilt and shame.

"What happened when we left Philly?'

"He became very anxious. He wanted to know everything she did. I was supposed to find ways to get her out of RangeMan alone. He didn't tell me why. Last Saturday was the first time I'd had a chance to be with her and know her schedule. I told him about the night out we were planning at Bugsy's." Megan's breaths were becoming short and shallow. "When we went to the bathroom and found...that girl...dead…" She couldn't go on.

Lester found a box of tissues and handed her a couple. "Was that his handiwork?"

Megan nodded her head and finished drying her tears. "The next day, there was an envelope outside my apartment door. Inside were pictures of that poor dead girl stuffed in the closet of that bathroom." She took a deep breath. "She looked so much like my sister." She turned to Lester. "He also sent more pictures of my nieces. They had red marks drawn across their necks."

The door to the office opened and Ranger stepped in. When he saw Lester, and Megan's distraught appearance, he started to back out.

"Ranger, don't leave." Lester's tone made Ranger stop. "You need to hear this."

Ranger took in the serious expression on Lester's face and stepped back into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"What's going on?"

"Megan was just telling me a very interesting story about the man that murdered Stephanie." He looked at Megan. "Go on, Megan, finish your story. Ranger should know." His words weren't exactly cold, but they weren't warm. The neutral tone was just as painful to Megan's ears and heart.

"When he contacted me on Wednesday morning, I told him that Steph and I were going to be at the mall, and that her security detail had been lifted. He didn't give me any specific instructions, he just told me he'd be in touch. There was a point in our shopping trip when Stephanie left me at the food court, with the packages, while she ran to Claire's. She wanted to get something special for Julie. While I was sitting at the table waiting for her to come back, he showed up. He was angry about the failure to get to her at Bugsy's, before Carlos came back to town. He warned me that if he didn't succeed at the mall, my sister would suffer the same fate as the girl."

"What did he want you to do?" Ranger asked

"He wanted me to find a way to get her to go out to the car alone. I asked him what he was going to do. He said that he and Miss Plum had some family business to take care of."

Lester shot a look toward Ranger.

"So I faked the injury to my ankle, and Stephanie volunteered to take the packages to the car and bring it around to the closest door. Then she left. I didn't know anything about the explosion until I heard some commotion in the mall and people were heading to the doors. I got worried, and that's when I went outside and found you." She was looking at Lester now, trying to gauge his reaction.

Seeing no response, Megan sunk back against the window and turned her attention to Ranger. "I'm…so…sorry, Carlos. Stephanie was a good friend to me." She was openly sobbing. "I didn't know what to do. I was so afraid for my family." Her whole body was shaking with the guilt and sadness she felt.

Ranger couldn't respond. The information was such a shock. His mind was whirling with thoughts of what he needed to do next. Megan caught his attention again when she covered her face and sunk to the floor in anguish. He moved to her, lifted her from the floor and pulled her into a gentle embrace.

His words were reassuring and calm. "Stephanie said you were a great friend to her, too. She would have been the first one to tell you that you had no other choice, and she wouldn't have wanted you to blame yourself for protecting your family. Stephanie would have forgiven you…and I do too." He looked over the top of her head to Lester, hoping he would have the strength to understand and forgive Megan as well, and save their obviously, fragile relationship. "There's been enough loss here."

…XXX...XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

With the new information that Megan supplied, RangeMan kicked into a whole new gear. Ranger directed Tony and Hal to locate any footage from the food court. He wanted an image of this man. Lester was still reeling from the facts and revelations, so Ranger asked Bobby to take Megan into the conference room to question her further and record as much detail as possible about the man who had been threatening her. Zero and Max were sent to Megan's apartment in Philadelphia to collect the pictures the man had sent her and any security footage from the hospital corresponding to the dates in which Stephanie was there. Hector had Megan's cell phone and was tracking down the calls that had been received and made.

Two hours later, Megan was sitting alone in the conference room. She was exhausted. It had been an emotional and draining process. Bobby had grilled her over and over for details that she thought were trivial, but that he had insisted were important. She held a forgotten cup of cold coffee in her hand as she stared at the blank wall in front of her. She wanted to go home, but she didn't have her car here, and she couldn't talk to Lester. Her actions had hurt him deeply, and she understood if he never wanted to see her again. So she remained in the conference room, hidden away from sight. She didn't want to be a painful reminder to anyone.

The door was closed, but she could hear the muffled sounds of activity on the floor. They were all out there. Helping, looking, solving. No one had said anything, but she felt like the enemy. She felt as guilty for Stephanie's demise as the man whom she had helped.

There was a quiet click and the sounds from the floor became louder, clearer for just a moment. There was another click and they resumed their stifled mumble.

"Megan."

Megan turned her head to see Lester leaning against the closed door. He watched her with a look she'd never seen from him before. Until Stephanie's death, their relationship had been light, fun, and exciting. Lester had always been playful, romantic, and extremely sensual with her. Even after Stephanie's death, when Megan had seen the depths to which he felt sorrow and pain, Lester had remained attentive and sensitive to her needs. But that was before he knew the truth. She had expected to see betrayal and hurt in him, but now she was seeing something else; regret. She supposed that he was feeling that for what he was about to do; ask her to leave and never come back.

Megan straightened her shoulders and held her head high. She was determined to be strong and face the consequences as they came. "Lester, I'm…"

"Don't say it." His voice was soft.

"Don't say what?"

He shook his head at her. "Don't say you're sorry."

"But I am. I betray…"

Lester stepped away from the door and hurried to her side. He knelt down in front of her and put his fingers to her lips. "Don't say another word. Let me speak."

She nodded, and Lester took the cup of cold coffee from her hand and placed it on the conference table.

"I just spent the last two hours thinking about what you told me. You were put in a terrible position. You were scared, and I guess I felt wounded that you didn't think you could come to me and tell me what was happening sooner. But we're new, you and I, and as crazy as I am about you, I know our relationship still needs a lot of work. It takes time to develop that kind of trust." He took both her hands in his. "I'd kick myself for not seeing that earlier, but I'd have to get in line behind Ranger and Bobby. They both about reamed me a new ass for how I reacted. I'm sorry, Baby." He leaned in and kissed her sweetly on the lips. "Can you forgive me?"

Megan was speechless; her mind was reeling from his confession. She couldn't control the tears which, once again, fell of their own volition. "Lester, I was so afraid you didn't want to see me anymore. That you were going to come in here and tell me to get out, after what I'd done." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. "You are so important to me."

"You're important to me too. The way I felt when I thought you were in that car with Stephanie…, Gorgeous, I don't _ever_ want to feel that way again."

"Lester, I really do care about you. I'm a nurse not an actress. I could never fake what I share with you and feel for you. It may have started out as a ploy to protect my family, but it didn't stay that way very long. I knew the first night we were together that you were special. That you could offer me something that I hadn't had in a long time."

"Sex?" He waggled his eyebrows at her.

She laughed. "That too, you pervert." She slapped him on the shoulder and then got serious again. "No, you offered me the opportunity to trust in love again. To be with someone who I could love and believe in, to still be there the next day. I thought I'd lost that."

"You mean when Justin died?"

"Yeah." She toyed with the hair at the back of his neck. "It's not an easy thing for me."

"I'm sorry you had to go through this alone. I want you to know that I'm here for you. You can tell me anything. I can protect you...and your family." He shifted to a more playful tone. "I'm a pretty tough guy. I can take it."

"I know that now." She kissed him and it very quickly deepened. Lester stood and pulled her out of the chair without his lips leaving hers. They were so involved with each other, they didn't notice when the door opened and Ranger stepped into the room.

Ranger felt a twinge of jealousy before his feelings turned to happiness for his friend. It hadn't been so long ago that he and Stephanie had experienced their own romantic moment in this room. He let the door close a little more loudly than was necessary, but it had the desired effect. Lester and Megan abruptly separated from their embrace; Megan blushing, Lester all smiles.

"Hey boss, things are looking up in here."

"I can see that. Congratulations." He smirked. "I need Megan to take a look at some surveillance tapes.

Megan was eager to help and rapidly moved toward the door. "Carlos, I'll do anything you need me to do."

He nodded, and they headed to another room down the hall where Hector had set up several pieces of equipment connected to monitors. Tony and Hal were focused on the screens and the grainy images that were being displayed. When Megan approached them, Tony got up and gave her his seat.

"What you're going to see is footage from the parking lot. We found the shots in the food court from when he joined you at the table, but unfortunately his back was to the camera the entire time. We couldn't get a good look at his face. He was using a disposable cell phone that he purchased under a name and address that led to a dead end, so we can't trace him from the phone calls. However, Hector is still working to locate the store where the phone was purchased. It's possible that even if he paid cash, the store surveillance may have caught his face. What we'd like you to do is look through these tapes and see if you recognize him coming in or out of the mall from any of the camera angles that have been made available to us."

Megan nodded her understanding and set to work. Tony brought up screen after screen for her to survey, while Hal was working on selecting shots from additional footage for her to look at next. She worked for over an hour and it felt like her head was going to split in half. She leaned on her elbows and rubbed her temples.

"Tired, Gorgeous?" Lester had been at her side the whole time. He rubbed her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.

"No, I can continue. I just need to step away for a minute. My eyes are starting to see double." She got up from the chair and excused herself to go to the ladies room.

"I'll get you a drink from the break room, Baby. You need anything guys?" He asked Hal and Tony.

A few minutes later, Lester returned from the break room with the drinks. Megan had already returned and was standing silently behind Hal, focused intently on his screen, tears streaming down her face. As Lester got closer he realized what she was looking at.

"Damn it, Megan, you don't need to look at that." He readily set down the drinks and pulled her face into his chest to prevent her from seeing anymore, but Megan fought his efforts. She refused to look away and hide from the reality of the disaster she had so unwillingly become a part of. She grabbed Lester's arms for support and watched as Stephanie approached the car, opened the back gate and placed the packages inside. She then closed the gate and walked to the driver's door, opened it and got inside. Just seconds later there was a silent blast of smoke and a ball of flames erupted from the center of the car. Megan didn't realize she was holding on so tightly to Lester until her fingers began to go numb. She looked down at her hand and shook it out to revive the circulation. Mid shake, she froze for a moment. She placed a hand on Hal's shoulder.

"Hal, can you play that again?"

Lester protested. "Megan you don't have to do this. Don't torture yourself…"

"No, Lester, it's okay. Hal, play it back, please."

Hal clicked a few buttons and punched a few keys on the keyboard and within a few moments, the scene was playing again.

Lester continued his objection. "Hal, stop it."

Hal paused the playback.

Megan looked at Lester with fire in her eyes. "No, Lester, I need to see it again." She turned back to Hal with the forceful voice she reserved for use on her more difficult patients. "Hal, continue."

Hal looked back at Lester and waited for a decision from his superior. Lester nodded. Hal tapped another key, and the footage rolled once more.

Megan viewed the film intently. She leaned over Hal's shoulder, invading his space and making him very uncomfortable.

"Oh, my god," she whispered. Megan stood up and turned to Lester, eyes wide, a hand over her mouth. "OH…MY…GOD!"

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	14. Chapter 14

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's Note: My heartfelt thanks for the touching and supportive reviews with the last chapter! I'm glad so many of you found the music recommendation helpful in creating the emotional draw intended by the chapter.

Hopefully, as the story continues on its path, this next chapter will answer many of your questions, confirm or dispel some of your guesses, and compel you to let me know what you think!

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 14

Megan's incredulous exclamation caught the attention of everyone in the room. They stared at her, waiting. Not understanding what had precipitated her shocked expression. Lester was concerned that she had become overwrought by the images of the explosion and tried to comfort her with his arms.

Megan put both hands on his chest and pushed back. "Lester, I can't believe it. I…I…I need to see it again." She turned to Hal. He didn't even hesitate.

Ranger had become aware of the commotion and entered the room, followed by Bobby, Tank, and Hector; all of them hoping that some sort of breakthrough had occurred.

The video recording began to play once more. It was difficult for them. It may have been low quality, but the image of Stephanie's final moments of life tugged at their hearts. Megan was the only one looking at the film critically.

"There!" She exclaimed. "Hal, can you freeze it there?"

Hal paused the video.

Megan placed her finger on the screen. "Right here. Do you see it?"

Lester leaned forward and peered closely at what she was pointing at. "She's closing the tailgate."

Megan replied. "Yes, yes she is." Her voice was gaining enthusiasm. "Hal, can you forward it some more?"

Hal resumed the play. Everyone keenly watched, trying to catch on to what Megan was seeing.

"And here!" She shouted again. "Freeze it…there!" Hal did. "Do you see it there, too?" She looked at Lester and then Ranger. Both were baffled. "She's opening the car door." She looked at Bobby, hoping the medic would understand what she was too overwhelmed to explain clearly. "With her left hand!"

Ranger raised his eyebrows, he was slowly processing what she was getting at, but it wasn't fast enough for Megan, who was, by now, practically jumping with excitement.

"Stephanie had been complaining all afternoon about how sore her left wrist was. She had trouble just carrying her packages." She looked back to Lester. "Look at the screen! She used her left hand to close the gate, and there…" She pointed to Stephanie's hand on the door. "She's using her left hand to open the car door. She shouldn't have been able to do that." She looked back to Ranger with the threat of more tears forming in her eyes, but this time they would be tears of happiness. "I don't think that's Stephanie."

Ranger was stunned. He was torn between his desperation to believe her words, and the concern that there might be some explanation to prove her theory wrong. He wasn't sure his heart could take the wild swing that would result from such a let down.

"Hal, can you magnify and clear up the image of her hand?"

"Boss, that's a bit out of my field of expertise."

Hector stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder. "Step away, amigo, I can do this."

Hal moved from the chair, and Hector swiftly negotiated the process of manipulating the video.

By now, word had spread on the floor and men were crowding into the room. In a few short moments, Hector had a large, but very fuzzy image of the hand on the car door.

"Hector, can you enhance it?" Lester was now standing with his arms tightly around Megan, with her back to his chest. They were both practically vibrating with anticipation.

Hector clicked a few more keys and the image cleared slightly. Poised on the slender ring finger, was the weak image of the jewel studded engagement band that Ranger had given Stephanie and, just as obvious, the only thing showing between the base of the fingers and the cuff of the coat sleeve…was skin.

There was no cast.

Ranger closed his eyes in silent reverence for the miraculous revelation. He attempted to organize his frenzied thoughts, but for the first time in his life, his emotions dominated his response and he couldn't act.

Tank noticed Ranger's indisposition and quickly started barking orders. "Lester, call Morelli, get him over here. We need to find out if they can do DNA testing on any of the remains that were thought to be Steph's." He turned, "Bobby, get up to seven, collect anything of Stephanie's you think could be used to obtain a DNA sample for a comparison. If you aren't happy with what you find upstairs, head over to her apartment." Bobby nodded. "Hal, Tony, get back to the surveillance tapes. If that's not Stephanie, she has to be somewhere. Whoever this guy is must have gotten to her shortly after she made that last phone call to Ranger. See if you can follow her through the mall. Look for anything that could be interpreted as them leaving."

"Yes, sir," they both replied, in a trained military response.

Tank glanced at Ranger who was still standing there...bewildered. "For now, let's keep this quiet. He thinks we believe she's dead. If he doesn't know we're looking for her, maybe he'll get careless."

Everyone nodded. Bobby left to follow his instructions. Hal and Tony turned back to their work. Lester pulled out his cell phone.

Tank turned to Hector, who was still staring in unbelief at the enlarged image. His rapid fire energy softened, and he put a hand on his shoulder. "Héctor, tenemos que encontrar nuestra niña. ¿Qué ha encontrado con el teléfono celular de seguimiento?" (Hector, we need to find our little girl. What have you found with the cell phone trace?)

"Nada de lo hasta ahora, jefe. El teléfono fue comprado en una tienda Wal-Mart en Filadelfia, hace más de un mes. Envié Cal para obtener las cintas de vigilancia de ese día." (Nothing so far, boss. The phone was purchased at a Wal-Mart in Philadelphia, over a month ago. I sent Cal to get the surveillance tapes from that day.)

Tank then looked to Lester, who had just finished placing his call to Morelli. "When those tapes come in I want three men on it. We have to identify this guy."

"On it." Lester replied.

Ranger finally brought himself back to the present. He took Megan's hand. "Megan, I can't tell you how grateful I am for what you've done. Just to know that she's alive...that there's a chance...I could get her back again…"

"I wish I could do more." Megan looked down in embarrassment. "I should have spoken up sooner. I'm not the hero here. I let you, Stephanie, and Lester down, and I'm so sorry for that." Megan could feel the negative vibrations emanating from Hector. She only had a slight understanding of the powerful connection he felt toward Stephanie, but she knew from his time spent with her in the hospital and his reaction to her death, that his forgiveness would not come easy, if at all. She also understood that there were probably others that felt the same way. But if she had learned one thing about the men at RangeMan in recent days, it was that they were very professional and, for the most part, they separated their emotions from the job. It was something she had been forced to do herself from time to time in her job as a nurse, but she never found it easy to do for long. She could apologize until the end of time and she knew it would not be enough to undo the damage caused by her silence and cowardice.

Ranger interrupted her thoughts. "Megan, you're the only witness we have to identify this guy. There's going to be a lot of video tape to go through. Why don't you get some dinner and rest. It will take the guys a while to reorganize. Then we'll need you again."

"Okay," she nodded.

Ranger left the chaos of the 5th floor behind and shut himself into his office. He needed to think. He needed to put everything he now knew about the situation into some perspective so that he could develop a clear plan. It's what he intended to do, but instead he thought about Stephanie and where she could be. He thought about how and when to tell her parents the news. He wanted to keep this under wraps, but it didn't seem fair to let them continue to suffer. There had been a lot of press. Details of her death and the investigation had made the front page of the Trenton paper every day. He expected tonight's edition would have a story and photos of the funeral.

There was a knock on the door and Tank entered. He was carrying a tray and set it down on Ranger's desk before he took a seat.

Ranger looked at the tray. "Ella?"

Tank nodded. "I promised her I would force you to eat. She'll check. So eat."

Ranger lifted the napkin. A nice warm stew and fresh baked bread lay underneath. He didn't have much of an appetite, but it was going to be a long night, so he picked up the spoon and took a few bites, then sat back when he realized Tank was just staring at him with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You want to say something?"

"Eat first."

Ranger ate a few more bites of food and then grabbed a piece of the bread and sat back in his chair. He noticed how tired Tank looked. It was easy to forget, being caught up in his own grief, that his friend had managed to carry the weight of RangeMan on his shoulders, comfort Lula, and carry his own personal sorrow at Stephanie's death.

"Speak."

Satisfied at his nutritional attempt, Tank sat forward and clasped his hands together with his elbows resting on his knees. Ranger was familiar with this pose. It's how Tank positioned himself when he wanted to talk straight, eye to eye, no bullshit.

"She's been gone four days already," he began. "Have you stopped to think about what could have happened to her by now? You know the statistics for kidnapping. If there's no demand for ransom…"

Ranger cut him off. "He went to a lot of trouble to make us believe she's dead. I don't think he would do that just to kill her."

"You and I both know there are worse things than death."

"I can't let myself go there. We know she wasn't killed in that car. That's enough for now. It doesn't change the fact that we have to search for her. We have to find out where she is now."

"True. I just don't want you to ignore the possibility that she could be…"

"She's not!" God, he didn't want to talk about that.

"Think about it, Carlos. What are the reasons someone would work this hard to take her?"

Ranger didn't answer.

"None of them are good."

"What's your point, Tank?"

Tank sat back in the chair and sighed. "Just lookin' out for my friend." He stood up and headed toward the door. He opened it and paused. "Morelli's on his way." He stepped out, closing the door behind him.

What Ranger didn't admit to Tank, was that he had already contemplated those other things. He had thought that, whoever this sick bastard was, he could be harming her in ways that _would _be worse than death. In his years of service in Special Ops, he had seen some of the most monstrous and sadistic forms of torture and punishment. Things done to women. Things that would make your skin crawl and could give even a hardened soldier nightmares. This son-of-a-bitch had already shown the lengths to which he was willing to go. The young girl in the bar had been brutally mutilated, only to serve as an example. And, while it may not have been Stephanie in that car, it was someone's daughter. Another innocent lured to her death to serve his evil purpose.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

"I'll be damned." Joe sat in Ranger's office looking at the evidence in front of him. Hector had printed still photos of the key points to the video, showing that it was most likely not Stephanie who entered the car. His emotional relief got the best of him, and he buried his face in his hands.

Ranger watched and waited. He knew from his own reaction that it would take time for Joe to process what he himself was still finding hard to comprehend as being true.

No longer able to sit, Joe stood and paced in front of Ranger's desk. "What are you doing about this already?"

Ranger went over the steps that his men were following. Joe nodded his approval of the plan. He ended by telling Joe their wish to keep the truth concealed for as long as possible.

"I can't get involved formally. If I do, I'd be required to notify the FBI because this is now, officially, an abduction. And we can't forget that there are at least three other victims involved. Two of them are dead. Another was threatened with bodily harm."

"I'm very aware of that. I don't mean to diminish the tragedy of their involvement in this, or their deaths, but if this guy doesn't know we're looking for Stephanie, we have a better chance of finding her."

Joe produced a deep sigh while he mulled over his options. He finally turned to Ranger and Tank. "It's a holiday weekend. A lot of people have taken time off since the excitement surrounding Stephanie's funeral required so much overtime. I'll talk to Pauzek. He can get started on the DNA testing. He's a good guy. He'll keep it under the radar. Paper work is always getting misplaced anyway. If he leans on the lab, he can have the results back sometime early tomorrow morning. When he gets those results, and they don't match, he won't be able to wait long to report them. You're gonna have two days tops, before all Hell breaks loose." He rubbed his face. "Jesus, the press is going to have a field day with this."

Ranger nodded. "Thank you."

Joe looked up and met Ranger eye to eye. "Don't thank me. Find her. Bring her home."

"I will."

"What about her parents?" Joe questioned.

"I'm going to see them tomorrow after I have the DNA evidence to present to them. I'll ask them to keep it quiet until it hits the papers."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Megan was back in the room looking at videos. She had eaten, but was too anxious to rest. She wanted to find the man. She wanted others to see the face she saw in her mind. Preliminary tests on the photos revealed no fingerprints other than hers. The cell phone connection looked more and more like a dead end, and somehow this guy had managed to avoid being caught by any of the surveillance cameras at the hospital and the mall.

Hal and Tony had narrowed down Stephanie's movements through the mall to her entrance into Macy's. She went in and eight minutes later, her presumed double came out the door by the shoe department, wearing Stephanie's coat, pants, shoes and jewelry, and carrying Stephanie's purse and packages. Lester had wanted to stay by Megan's side, but he and Max had gone over to Macy's to interview employees before the store closed for the night. They were looking for clues as to what had happened to Stephanie in those eight minutes. Lester didn't want her to be alone so Jack had volunteered to sit with her.

Hal and Tony were still assisting her with the videos. They had finished the interior shots and were now working their way through the parking lot surveillance tapes. It had been the day before Thanksgiving and the mall was crowded. Traffic was heavy.

The sight of a dark delivery van caught Megan's attention. She wasn't sure why, but it gnawed at her until she could no longer ignore it.

"Tony, could you see where that van came from?"

Tony rewound the video, and together they watched the progression of the van as it entered the camera range on the south side of the mall near Lord & Taylor, then pulled up to the curb at the entrance. They continued to watch as the van sat for a moment. The driver got out and opened the back doors. He pulled out a large, rolling garment rack, the kind enclosed in a zippered, canvas bag to protect the contents. He closed the back doors and rolled the cart into the mall.

Hal, seeing the interest in the van, quickly pulled up additional surveillance footage on his screen to locate the van before it entered the camera screen that Tony was looking at.

"Look at this." Hal said. "That van was parked in a parking space outside Penney's before it got to your screen." He looked at the time stamp. "He pulled out of his parking spot and headed your way, one minute after the detonation of the explosives in Steph's car."

"Was he in range for the detonation?" Tony asked.

"Hell yes." Hal replied.

Jack was getting curious too. "Can you tell what kind of delivery van it is?" He was leaning over Hal, trying to view the screen as well.

"It's not very clear, but maybe we can have Hector do something about that."

"I'll go get him." Jack left the room.

Tony and Megan continued to watch the now parked and empty van. Tony fast forwarded until he saw the garment rack coming back through the entrance doors once more. This time, there were two men guiding it to the van. The original driver opened the back doors, and it took both of them to lift the cart up into the van. They closed the doors, got in the front seat, and drove away.

"Call Ranger," Tony said to Hal. "I think we've got something."

Hector and Jack returned to the room, followed shortly by Ranger and Tank. Tony and Hal replayed what they had seen in the videos for everyone, and Hector worked on enhancing the image of the van, and the two men.

"The bag is definitely heavier when it goes back into the van, than it was when it left," Tank observed.

"There are not words on the side of the van, but I think I have a part of the plate," Hector said as he typed furiously. He gave a final tap of the keys and the image appeared. The plate was covered in mud, but just enough of the top was clean to make out the partial name of the state. "Florida."

Hector quickly returned to the images of the men. Both were wearing hats, and their faces were hidden in the shadows. When he got one image as clear and as large as he could, he pulled it up. It wasn't much help.

"Damn it." Tony swore under his breath. He turned to his computer. He pulled up a file that needed authorization to open and looked to Ranger. "I have an idea, can you get me in?"

Ranger nodded, reached over and typed in the password. Tony navigated the file until he found what he was looking for. The image of a man appeared on his screen.

Ranger raised an eyebrow as he recognized the man.

Tony looked at Megan. "Is this the man that contacted you?"

Megan studied the picture. "No. This guy has a similar build and hair color but it isn't his face. The man who contacted me was younger and not as muscular." She took another look at the picture. "Although there's something about the eyes…"

Tony grabbed his cell phone stepped to the back of the room and made a call. A minute later he returned to the group. He sat back down in front of the computer and brought up what looked like an email account. He impatiently tapped his finger on the mouse. "I called RangeMan Miami. They're sending me some surveillance photos. I have a feeling…" Tony's computer signaled that a new email had arrived in his in-box. Tony opened the mail, downloaded the attachment and brought up the file. A few clicks more and another image appeared.

"That's him!" Megan didn't hesitate. She was positive. "That's the man that has been threatening me. That's the man from the mall!"

Ranger looked sharply at Tony for an explanation. "Who is that?"

"Jake Murdock." He sighed. "Marcus Sandor's cousin."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie didn't want to open her eyes. She was nauseated again. She was getting really tired of all this. The last few days were a blur of pain, nausea and confusion. She knew she was being kept drugged, but she tried to retain as much information about what had been happening to her as she could.

The last thing she remembered was talking to Ranger on the phone.

_She hung up and was making her way through Macy's to get to her car so she could help Megan. The next thing she knew, she was inside some van or small truck; trussed like a turkey, lying on the floor blindfolded, and she had a hell of a headache. She heard no voices and detected no other human movements, so she was pretty sure the cab of the vehicle she was in was separate from the back. The only clue that told her she had probably been there for a while was that she really needed to pee…badly! She lay there, listening. The van was travelling at a steady pace, so she assumed they were on an interstate. After a while, she felt the vehicle slow, make several turns and come to a stop. She heard the muffled opening and closing of one of the doors, and then it was quiet for several minutes. The door opened and closed again and then the van started up, traveled a very short distance, then stopped. She heard both doors open, close and then the back of the van was opened. She was roughly handled to a standing position, lifted by her arms; feet dragging the ground, and carried through the door of a house or building._

_They walked a short distance and her arm hit the frame of a doorway as she was shoved forward. The door was closed and someone began loosening the ties that bound her feet._

_"Don't remove the blindfold until I leave the room. If you do, I'll cut you. You have ten minutes to do whatever you need to do in here. Then put the blindfold back on." He stood up from his crouched stance. "I'll come back in and you can have something to eat. There aren't any windows and the only door leads right back to me. So don't try anything. And don't scream for help. The next closest cabin is over a hundred yards away. No body will hear you." He finished unbinding her hands and she heard him leave the room. She quickly reached up and released the blindfold. She was in a bathroom. He was right, no windows._

_She looked at herself in the mirror and it was then she realized she wasn't wearing her own clothes. Even her shoes were different. They were maybe a half size too big. She was wearing navy cargo pants and a tan sweater. She lifted the neck of the sweater away from her chest and looked down at her bra. It was her own. She undid her pants, and found the underwear was hers, too. She did her business and spent a couple of minutes trying to wash off some of the grime from the floor of the van. As she rinsed her hands in the sink, it dawned on her that her engagement ring was missing. She felt a knot in her stomach at the loss of Carlos' beautiful gift._

_There was a sharp rap at the door._

_"Put the blindfold back on."_

_She did, and acknowledged through the door that she had done so. The door opened, she was taken into the main room and seated at a table. Food was put in front of her, but she couldn't eat._

_"You'll only be offered food, drink and the bathroom twice a day; at night and in the morning. If you don't eat or go at those times...well, that's up to you."_

_"Who are you? What do you want with me?"_

_There was no answer._

_"Where are you taking me?" Tears were threatening, but she wanted to stay strong. She wanted to stand up to her captors._

_She wasn't hungry, but she was thirsty, so she groped around the table in search of a drink. She almost tipped it over, but large hands caught it and guided it into hers. It was cold and she drank the whole thing over the next couple of minutes._

_When it became obvious that she wasn't going to eat, she was taken back into the bathroom, her arms and legs were bound again and that's the last thing she remembered until she woke up in the bathtub with a pillow behind her head and a blanket covering her body. The routine was repeated from the night before, and when she awoke again she was back in the van barreling down the highway to a destination unknown._

She had slept in three bathtubs, so Stephanie deducted that by now it was Saturday morning. She still had never seen either one of her kidnappers, and only the one had ever spoken to her. His words were always instructive and commanding. There was never any sign of warmth or concern for her well-being. She was treated like a package, being transported on a long journey to be delivered.

They must have been close to their destination because she wasn't drugged after this morning's breakfast. She was tied, blindfolded and led back into the van. As they travelled, she noticed that the air was getting warmer. The drugs they kept injecting her with had kept her unconscious most of the time, and when she was awake; her ability to think straight was greatly impaired. Her mind wandered to Ranger and what he must be going through. Surely he was looking for her. Megan would have called Lester when she didn't return. She had caused him so much worry already, and now she was doing it again. She cried when she thought of Rex and hoped that someone had remembered to feed him. She wondered how her mother had handled Thanksgiving. So many people were supposed to be there. Julie…she had bought her that necklace. She wanted to make this trip to Trenton so special for Ranger's daughter. The more she thought, the more melancholy she became, and by the time the van stopped she was an emotional mess.

The back doors opened and the van was immediately filled with warm salty air. She could smell the ocean.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

"Chelsea Grant." Morelli burst into Ranger's office with a little more lightness in his step than there had been in the last several days. He dropped a file on Ranger's desk.

Ranger looked up from his computer. He was exhausted. He had spent most of the night going over information and in planning meetings with his core team and those men who would be involved with Stephanie's search and rescue.

"When the DNA results came back, I did a search for missing persons. When nothing showed up locally or in the state, I looked in the national database. Chelsea Grant was listed as missing 10 days ago from the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Her DNA was already in the system. It's a match with the sample Pauzek was able obtain. 23 years old, white, 5' 7", 130 pounds and curly brown hair. There's a picture of her in the file."

Ranger opened the file. "She looks a lot like Stephanie."

"Yeah, she does." Joe had sad smile on his face. "When I left here last night, I didn't know what to believe. I didn't want to fool myself into believing…"

"I know." Ranger looked down at the file again. "It makes sense. I95 runs through Richmond, and that's the interstate that runs from Florida to Trenton. He probably picked her up on his way north in the van."

"What are you talking about?"

"We know who has her." Ranger stood up. "Marcus Sandor is a man that Stephanie helped us capture on a recent trip to Miami. He had attacked the sister of one of my employees down there. Megan has identified his cousin, Jake Murdock as the man who has been threatening her. We're working under the assumption that he's taken her as some sort of revenge for his cousin."

"Attacked?" Joe questioned, "what kind of attack?"

"Rape and assault."

"Jesus Christ, you think she's being held by a rapist?" Joe's initial good mood had evaporated.

"We don't know for sure if he has her. We only know about the involvement of his cousin."

"Where is this guy…Sandor? Is he in jail?"

"He was released on bond. My men have been monitoring him since his release. To our knowledge he hasn't left the area."

Joe ran his hands through his hair. "Hasn't left the area! Hasn't left the area?" His voice grew increasingly agitated, and his arms were flying in a fashion that reflected his explosive Italian heritage. "He doesn't need to leave the area! His cousin is going to hand deliver her to him!"

Ranger was holding on to his sanity by a thread. Inside he felt just like Joe, but he didn't have the luxury of falling apart. He had to stay strong. He had to stay focused. And although he had been failing miserably at it for the last several hours, he now managed to give Morelli a calm, professional reply. "We have his location under surveillance. There's been no sign of her yet."

"What do you plan to do?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Joe threw his arms up to stop Ranger's answer. "No! Don't tell me. It's better if I don't know." He picked up the report and dangled it. "I can't sit on this much longer, Manoso. I have to turn this stuff over to the FBI."

"Give us a twenty-four hour head start, Morelli. We leave for Miami in a few hours. You know we can get her. You know it will get complicated if government agencies get involved. I'll give you everything we have and you can turn it over to the authorities."

Ranger and Joe looked hard at each other eye to eye; speaking without saying a word. They seemed to be doing that a lot lately. They had an intense and tenuous relationship that swung between mutual, professional respect and personal distrust.

Joe blinked and the silent conversation was over. "I'll give you until three o'clock tomorrow. I'm taking some personal time, so I won't be in until then. What about her parents?"

"I'm going to see them now."

"Do you want me to come along?"

"No, I think it would be better for your deniability if you didn't. But I'll tell them that you will be keeping them updated on our progress...if that's okay with you."

"Deniability? Christ, I'm already up to my ears in this. I'll be lucky if I'm not busted down to traffic."

"I could put in a good word for you with the Mayor." Ranger almost smiled.

"Don't do me any favors." Joe headed toward the door to leave and turned back at the last second. "Good luck, Manoso," he said. "And take a shower before you go see the Plums. You look like shit!"

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	15. Chapter 15

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 15

Stephanie was guided up a set of stairs and into a room. As before, her restraints were released, beginning with her feet.

"You won't need the blindfold anymore. After I leave, you can remove it."

The door closed and Stephanie removed the black cloth that was wet with her tears and perspiration. She rubbed her arms, shook them out to revive the circulation in them and immediately looked for the bathroom. She had been well conditioned over the last few days to do that first. She made a quick scan of the room. It was nice. Beautiful silk curtains hung at the windows and French doors. Just beyond them was a balcony with a stunning view of the ocean. What little furniture stood in the room, was expensive looking. She could see by the marks in the plush carpet that several pieces had been removed. There was an inviting, queen-sized bed covered with pillows and a fluffy lightweight down comforter. After spending three nights in a bathtub…she shook her head.

"Stop it Plum. This isn't the Ritz. It's a prison," she chastised herself.

There were two dainty, upholstered chairs set around a small table, a ceiling fan with a light, and two additional doors in the room. One led to a closet that was empty except for a couple items of women's clothing that hung on cheap plastic hangers. The other led to a bathroom. Stephanie took advantage of the bathroom facilities and then investigated further. All the drawers under the sink were empty. There was a toothbrush, toothpaste, and small plastic cup sitting on the counter. In the shower was a bar of soap, and there were three towels and a washcloth hanging on the towel bar. She used the soap and washcloth to do a cursory clean up as had been her routine for the last three days.

Stephanie was puzzled when, after several more minutes, no one came back to the room. She checked the windows and French doors. Locked. They were also designed with multi-pane windows; sectioned so that each piece of glass was no more than five or six inches in width; too small to break and climb through. She looked out to the balcony. From what she could see, it ran the length of the back of the house, probably connecting with other bedrooms on the same floor. The lock on the French doors didn't seem that complicated. With the time she had spent training with Hector on breaking and entering, she was pretty sure she could open it with the right tool. She was just about to start looking for something to use when the door to the room opened.

Stephanie spun around to see a man entering. He was older, maybe in his mid-sixties; he was very good-looking, and he wore an air of aristocratic authority and control that fit him as well as the expensive, dark linen suit he was dressed in. Stephanie could see him scrutinizing her. He inspected her from head to toe, and the action added disturbing chills to the already violated and vile disposition she had from her brutal handling and having been in the same clothes for days with no shower.

"Miss Plum, I apologize for the sparse accommodations. It's not how I would normally supply a guest in my home. But, then again, you're not a normal guest."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Grayson Murdock."

When he spoke his name, something hitched inside Stephanie's brain. She recognized the name, but her mind was still fuzzy from the repeated dosages of whatever drug they had been using on her and she couldn't nail down where she'd heard it before.

"Do I know you?"

"We've never met, but you involved yourself in my business. I didn't like that."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Where am I?"

"This is my beach house. We're just outside of Miami."

Stephanie's eyes opened wide in realization. She recognized him now from the newspaper article and picture. "You're Marcus Sandor's uncle."

He nodded. "You did your homework, I see." He walked further into the room. "You weren't very nice to my nephew, Miss Plum."

"You're nephew is scum! He raped a woman," she bit back at him.

Grayson remained calm and unfazed by her anger. "That's her story. Women lie. They want to avoid the embarrassment of their actions and they cry rape. It happens all the time."

"He broke her arm! She had internal injuries! I saw the photos!"

Grayson shrugged. "So she likes it rough." He leered at her and moved uncomfortably close to her personal space. "I'm sure you know what that's like. You look like you could be a real tiger in bed." He reached up to touch her face. Stephanie stepped back out of reach.

"You're sick. You really believe that? Is that what Marcus told you? That she wanted it that way? That she wanted to be beat like that? You're insane!"

There was a brief flash of anger on Grayson's face before he regained control and reprised his calm demeanor and smarmy smile. "I can see why Manoso wants you. You're feisty." He walked closer to her again. "It's not an attribute I find particularly…appealing…in a woman, but I can see the attraction for a man like him. You must be quite a challenge to handle."

Stephanie definitely wanted to change the direction of the conversation. "What am I doing here?"

"Ahhh," he strolled over to one of the windows and looked out, "I was hoping we could spend a little time getting to know one another, but I can see you want to get down to business." He turned toward her. "You see, Miss Plum, you are going to make Marcus' problems go away."

"I don't understand."

He headed toward the door. "You will, but you're not feeling quite comfortable enough in my home yet. It was a long journey to get you here. I'm sure you would like some time to freshen up. I'll send Colleen in. She'll help you with all your personal matters. I'll see you at dinner later this evening. In the meantime, make yourself comfortable. This might take a few days." And with that cryptic message, he stepped out of the room and closed the door.

Stephanie ran to the door and tried the knob. Still locked. She moved to the French doors and gazed out at the ocean while trying to figure out what Grayson Murdock was up to. She started putting the pieces together. This was the danger that Carlos was expecting, but it wasn't coming from the source they all predicted. She wondered if Carlos knew where she was or who had her. He had been so sure it was the Bilotti family that would come after her. Would he know to look in a different direction?

There was a weak knock at the door and then it was opened. A very young girl entered the room almost hesitantly. She had long auburn hair, a petite frame and wide brown eyes. She couldn't have been much taller than five feet and that was in the kitten-heeled sandals she was wearing. In her arms was a basket of what appeared to be bathroom products.

"Miss Plum?"

Stephanie didn't answer. She wasn't feeling very polite.

"My name is Colleen. I'm here to see what you need."

With no warmth to her voice and 'Burg' manners forgotten, Stephanie snapped at the girl. "I need to get the hell out of here! Can you help me with that?"

She looked down at her basket, totally ignoring Stephanie's question. "I wasn't sure what you like to use on your hair. I've brought you some of my stuff. I'm not allowed the leave the comb or the razor, but you're welcome to take a shower and use them now."

"Why am I here?"

"I already put some towels and a few other things in the bathroom for you. I hope…"

"What are they going to do to me?"

"Dinner will be served at seven thirty, if you're hungry now…"

What happened to my clothes? Why am I dressed like this?"

"There are a couple of outfits in the closet. I wasn't sure of your size, but I will get you some more…"

"What the hell is going on here? Answer me!" Stephanie was exasperated and quite irritated with the girl's refusal to respond.

Colleen cringed at Stephanie's outburst. "I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to answer those questions."

"Why not."

"He would get very angry at me if I disobeyed him."

"Who? Grayson Murdock?"

Colleen nodded.

"Is he your father?"

Colleen shook her head.

"Do you work for him? Are you some kind of housekeeper or assistant?"

"I'm…I'm his mistress."

Stephanie's mouth dropped open. "You couldn't be more than twenty years old! He must be at least…"

"I'm eighteen," she replied in an indignant manner. "Grayson is sixty seven." Colleen quickly tried to change the subject. "We have to get you cleaned up. Grayson expects everyone to be dressed for dinner."

"Everyone? Will there be others at dinner?"

"Sometimes his son or his nephew comes. It depends."

"His son Jake? His nephew Marcus Sandor?"

She nodded.

"I thought he was in jail."

"He's out on bond. The trial won't be for a few months yet. Grayson's sure he'll get off, though."

Stephanie did an internal shiver at the thought of being in the same room as Marcus Sandor. She could still feel his hands groping at her, and she could still recall the anger in his eyes when he had discovered the wire she was wearing. She was so deep in thought that she missed some of what Colleen was telling her. The girl's movement brought her back to the present, in time to hear the end of a sentence.

"…and if you'll give me the clothes you're wearing, I'll have them washed." She headed over to the closet. "You can wear this sundress for now. I'll bring in something more appropriate for you to wear to dinner."

"I'm not having dinner with Grayson Murdock." Stephanie's statement was flat and unemotional.

"Oh, you have to. Grayson doesn't like it when people don't do as he asks."

"Well, he'll just have to get over it. I won't sit at the same table as that bastard."

"Why don't you take a shower? I'm sure you'll feel better if you just get cleaned up."

"You treat me as if I'm a guest. I'm here against my will. Do you understand that? This is not a god damned vacation!"

Colleen cowered at Stephanie's anger. "I know." She whispered. "Just try to make the best of it. You don't want to make them angry."

"Them?"

"Any of them. Grayson, Jake, Marcus. They don't like it when women don't follow their rules."

"Has Grayson hurt you?"

"Grayson loves me. He gives me everything I need."

"There's all kinds of love." Stephanie sighed and internally mourned when she spoke the words that Ranger had used on her once, but she refocused on the girl and repeated firmly, "Does he hurt you?"

Colleen looked away embarrassed and whispered so softly Stephanie almost didn't hear her response. "Sometimes."

"Oh my god." Stephanie closed her eyes as she thought about the life this young girl was leading. "How, Colleen? How does he hurt you?"

Colleen refused to look at Stephanie. She dropped her head. "It doesn't matter. He always apologizes. He doesn't mean to hurt me. He loves me." She finally looked at Stephanie with begging eyes. "Please don't' make him angry. Do as he asks."

Stephanie decided she had pushed enough. She barely knew this girl and she already had problems of her own. "I guess I _could_ really use a shower."

A very relieved Colleen took her basket into the bathroom and set out some of the supplies and returned to the bedroom. "I have to wait here while you shower, then I have to take those things back when I leave. There's a man posted outside your door. He'll check."

Stephanie nodded, entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She looked down at her cast. It was a mess from not being protected the last several days during the times she was allowed to wash up. She ran her fingers over the names of the Merry Men that had signed it and tears welled up in her eyes. Several of the names had smeared. The cast was starting to fall apart in places and it smelled awful. She really needed to find a way to take it off. The doctor had told her she would be in the cast for six weeks. She had an appointment coming up on Monday to remove it. It was practically useless anyway, so she started pulling at the part wrapped around her thumb. Once that was off, she couldn't do much more with out a pair of scissors or a knife. She doubted seriously if a request for either would be honored. As a last ditch effort she opened the door and called out to Colleen.

"Colleen, do you think you could bring in a pair of scissors and help me remove my cast? I really can't shower with it like this, and it's not doing me any good in the condition it's in any way."

Colleen looked stunned. "I…I…don't know. Scissors? Let me make a call." She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and passed along the request to the person at the other end. She made a few short statements and hung up. "Jake will be here in a few minutes. He's going to help remove the cast."

"Jake? Is he the one who brought me here?"

"Yes."

"There were two men with me. Who was the other one? Was it Marcus?"

"No."

"Who was it?"

"One of Grayson's men. You won't see him again. He was just hired to assist Jake in getting to you and transporting you safely."

"Safely?"

"Sometimes Jake can be unpredictable and get…out of hand." Stephanie noticed how carefully Colleen worded her statement. "Grayson sent his man to keep Jake in line, so he wouldn't…" Colleen didn't finish the sentence.

"Wouldn't what? Hurt me?"

Colleen didn't have time to answer. The door opened and a much younger, less sophisticated version of Grayson Murdock entered, carrying a pair of scissors and what looked like a very small, battery powered circular saw. He grinned at Stephanie like he knew a secret.

"I hear you're looking for a man with a blade." His voice was not familiar. Stephanie decided he was not the one who spoke to her during the trip.

Stephanie was uneasy and looked at Colleen. She was surprised to see Colleen's demeanor had changed since Jake Murdock entered the room. She stood taller and now had an air of self-assurance about her. She even looked older. "Can I trust him?"

"He won't hurt you. Grayson won't allow it." Colleen replied with some authority.

"Yet," Jake added. He walked over to Stephanie, grabbed her by her good arm and dragged her over to the table. "Sit down and put your cast on the table."

Stephanie did as she was told and he powered on the saw. It started up with a sharp noise that made her jump and then it settled into a low hum. She closed her eyes as he lowered the blade to her arm. She could feel the tug of the blade on the cast as it moved down her arm toward her wrist. He turned her arm and repeated the action on the opposite side of the cast. In just minutes the saw was turned off. She opened her eyes as Jake pulled the harder shell of the cast off her arm then picked up the scissors and finished removing the last layer of the cotton like fabric closest to her skin. When everything was removed, Stephanie picked up her arm and rubbed the peeling, dirty skin, revealed underneath.

"Thank you." She tentatively acknowledged to her captor.

He leaned over and spoke right up against her ear and whispered. "Not a problem, Sweet Cheeks. I'm very good with sharp instruments." His creepy insinuation made Stephanie cringe and she moved to pull away from him. He tightened a hand around her arm and held her in place. "Did you enjoy the work I did at Bugsy's?"

Stephanie turned sharply toward his face. "That was you?"

"She was a particularly sweet, young piece. She made me appreciate my father's fascination with the fresh peach over there." He nodded his head toward Colleen. "Too bad I had to make an example of her after only one round of fun. Time was of the essence that night. You had a lot of protection and I needed to leave a message." He let go of Stephanie's arm but she didn't move.

"What kind of message? I don't understand. I didn't know that girl. How was I supposed to understand a message from…what you did?"

"The message wasn't for you?" He picked up his tools and the remains of the cast. "See you at dinner." He grinned again, then left the room, leaving a baffled Stephanie sitting in the chair.

Colleen had remained in the room the whole time, but one look at her and Stephanie knew she wasn't going to get any answers from the young girl. She was beginning to think that Colleen was as much a victim of this sick family as she was herself.

Stephanie went back to the bathroom. As she undressed, a small card dropped out of one of the many pockets in the cargo pants. She picked it up and examined it. It was a student ID card for a girl named Chelsea Grant, at Virginia Commonwealth University. Stephanie studied the picture of the girl with brown curly hair. She wasn't sure what was going on, but a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach told her it wasn't good. Stephanie pulled open one of the small bathrooms drawers and put the ID inside, toward the back. She closed the drawer and then stepped into the shower.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Ranger stepped onto the Plum's front porch and rang the doorbell. It took a moment, but eventually the door opened and Frank Plum stood there looking like he had aged ten years in the last few days. He nodded at Ranger in greeting and opened the screen door to let him in.

"Carlos," Frank choked out in a rough voice. "Didn't expect to see you here this morning."

"I'm sorry, for the early visit, Frank, but we need to talk."

"You have some news about Stephanie? Do you know who…do you have the bastard?"

Frank had led Ranger into the living room. Ranger looked around and didn't see Mrs. Plum. "Is Helen here?"

Frank shook his head. "She and Edna went to the early Sunday mass." Frank sat in his usual chair and waved a hand toward the couch. "Sit down. Tell me what you know."

Ranger sat on the edge of the couch and clasped his hands in front of him. "Frank, we've been studying the surveillance tapes. Last night, one of Stephanie's friends, Megan, noticed something odd in the video of Stephanie getting into her car right before the..."

"Explosion?"

Ranger nodded. "She noticed that the woman opening the tailgate, and then the car door, used her left hand. When we enhanced the image it showed that the women in the video had no cast on her left hand."

"What are you saying, Carlos?"

"I'm saying, Frank, that the woman who died in that explosion was not Stephanie."

Frank was stunned. He couldn't believe the words he was hearing. "Not Stephanie?" He muttered.

Ranger gave him a moment to comprehend what he had just told him. He got up from the couch and squatted down in front of Frank in his chair. "Morelli asked the coroner to quietly run some DNA tests on the remains found at the scene. They belong to a missing girl from Virginia, Frank, not Stephanie."

Franks eyes glistened with unshed tears. "My little girl isn't dead?" Ranger nodded in confirmation. "My god." He stood up from his chair and walked to the other side of the room, turned around and walked back. "You're sure?" he asked, Ranger. "You're absolutely sure?" He ran his hand through his thinning hair. "Stephanie isn't dead? We didn't bury her yesterday? She's alive?"

Ranger smiled at her father's building excitement. "Stephanie didn't die in that car explosion, Frank."

Frank continued shaking his head in unbelief for a few moments, and then his thoughts developed further, sudden realization struck him and he looked up sharply. "Where the hell is she?"

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Ranger headed up to five when he returned to RangeMan. He had called a final meeting before their departure to Miami. When he stepped off the elevator the usual calm professional atmosphere of the floor was absent. In its place was the hustle and bustle of men working with a new purpose. Everyone was working to find Stephanie. Several men would be heading south. Ranger wanted his entire core team with him in Miami, so Tank had retained the back-up employees that had been brought in from the Boston office. Boston's second in command would run things in Trenton until their return. In addition to Lester, Tank and Bobby, Ranger had requested Hector, Hal, Cal and three of his newest employees that would be unfamiliar to Marcus Sandor; Max, Junior and Woody. They would be critical in being able to move around Miami undetected as RangeMan employees. Tony Barnes and his female companions would be returning to Miami with them and Ranger had also asked Jack Winchester to come along as well. He didn't know what they would find when they got her back and he wanted to be able to give Stephanie the support she might need.

As the meeting got underway, Ranger's cell rang.

"Yo."

"Um, boss? This is Jones at the front desk." He sounded nervous. "There's a…a…some people that want to…speak…"

"Spit it out Jones." Ranger looked across the table. "Hector, bring up the camera at the front desk."

Hector quickly typed in some key information and queued the image to project on the main screen. Standing at the front desk, in what looked like a lynch mob on the attack, were six anxious women; Lula, Connie, Adria, Cindy, Emily and Stephanie's sister, Valerie.

"What the fu…" Tank caught himself as he mused aloud at the group in the camera shot.

"What do they want, Jones?"

"They say they want to speak with you. They insist it's very important, sir."

Ranger thought for a brief moment. "Have the ladies escorted to the conference room on two." He hung up his cell and in a patient but restrained voice, asked, "Tank can you and Bobby go find out what our…guests…need?"

Tank and Bobby headed out the door. Ranger nodded for Lester to start the meeting.

Twenty minutes later Ranger's phone rang again.

"Speak."

"Ranger," Tank said. "You might want to come down here. I think you'll find what they have to say to be…interesting."

"Give me three." Ranger hung up his phone. "Continue the meeting, Santos. I'll be back."

Ranger hustled down the stairs and entered the conference room. The six women were all sitting around the table. They looked tired and nervous, except for Lula. She looked in charge, anxious, and ready for some action. She was practically bouncing in her seat.

"Ladies," Ranger nodded to them. "What can I do for you? Tank says you have something important to say."

"Fuckin' A, Batman. We want to get our girl back!" Lula stood up. She couldn't sit any longer.

"That's what my men and I are going to do. We're going to find Stephanie." Ranger looked at each one of the women. It was an odd grouping. They were all part of Stephanie's life, but from vastly different parts of it. He couldn't imagine how they ended up here together.

"We think you could use our help." Lula spoke up again. "We all know that you found out about who has Steph. And the writer chick…" she nodded across the table.

"Adria." Valerie added.

"Yeah, the writer chick, Adria," Lula continued. "She told us about how Steph went into that bar for you in Miami 'cause this guy…" She turned to look at Connie. "What's his name?"

"Marcus Sandor." Connie answered rolling her eyes in impatience.

"Yeah, this rat bastard, Sandor, knows all your men. Anyway, we figure that still has to be a problem for you?" She looked at Ranger with her eyebrows lifted and her hand on her hip.

Ranger was leaning against the wall of the conference room, listening. He had his arms crossed over his chest. He nodded slightly to confirm Lula's suspicion.

"Well, me and the girls here, think we can help. We want to go with you down to Miami and help you look for White Girl." She smiled in satisfaction of her statement.

Ranger shot a 'you've got to be kidding me' look over to Tank and Bobby. "Ladies, it's nice that you want to help Stephanie, and I'm sure she would appreciate…"

Connie spoke up. She knew they were about to get the brush-off and had some details to add. "Ranger, what Lula is trying to say, is that we know you guys can't just walk into the Wild Horse Inn and do a search for Steph. You and your guys won't get within a hundred yards of that bar without being identified. If Steph is there, they'd have her out of there before you got to the front door."

"We don't know that she's there," Ranger interjected.

"But you need to make sure, don't you?"

Ranger nodded again.

"We also know that your surveillance team in Miami reported that Jake Murdock showed up at the bar late last night and that it's the main hangout for Sandor. So there's a chance that Steph could be there."

Ranger nodded again, this time while trying to figure out which one of his men was sharing the details of the investigation. Once more, looking at the group, he realized that all of them, with the exception of Stephanie's sister Val, were either currently dating a RangeMan, or were related to one.

"We want to create a distraction so that your men can sneak into the building and search for Steph."

"What kind of distraction are you talking about?"

Lula replied loudly and with enthusiasm. "The kind of distraction we do best, Batman; a wild, girl's night out!" She flung her hips to the side and snapped her fingers.

Connie once again brought the details into focus. "We thought we could go into the bar as a group of girlfriends having a bachelorette party. We could let it get a little out of control, and while the employees are busy dealing with the commotion we plan to cause, you could sneak in a few guys to check out the upstairs, back rooms, anyplace you need to look." Connie made it sound so simple.

Ranger wasn't quite convinced.

Valerie stood up. "Carlos, when I was taken by Abruzzi, by mistake, Stephanie didn't hesitate to come after me. Alone." She walked right up to Ranger and put her hand on his arm. "She put her life on the line for me. I owe her so much for bringing me back home to my girls." She looked over her shoulder at the group of women sitting at the table. "There isn't one of us here that doesn't owe something to my sister. We just want to help. We know were not trained like your men, but really, all we're asking for is the chance to help Stephanie...like she's helped us. We'll go into that bar, cause some trouble long enough for your guys to do their thing, and then we'll be out of there."

Ranger actually sighed. He took Valerie's hand in both of his. "These are very dangerous men we're talking about. You understand that don't you?"

Valerie nodded her head. "They are very dangerous, and they have my sister." Her eyes filled with tears. "I have to try. Please. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't."

Ranger knew the feeling. He would gladly give his life for Stephanie. These women were just asking to help his Babe in any way they could. Until this very moment, he never thought Stephanie and her sister had much in common. Now, he could actually see Stephanie looking back at him in Valerie's eyes, and damn it, if the tears and the 'please' from her sister, didn't get to him. Never taking his eyes off Valerie's, he gave a slight sigh. "Let me talk it over with the team. You ladies wait here, and we'll go back upstairs to discuss it."

Valerie closed her eyes and nodded. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. All my men have to be okay and comfortable with this idea, before I agree to anything."

"I understand."

Ranger nodded at Bobby and Tank and they followed him out of the room. In the elevator Ranger turned and gave Tank 'the look'.

"Don't look at me like that," Tank warned. "I didn't know a damn thing about this!"

Ranger swung his eyes to Bobby.

"Hey man," he said with his arms raised in surrender and chuckle in his words. "I swear, Adria never said a peep about this to me. I'm just as surprised by this as you are."

"The whole idea is outrageous. You know that don't you?" Ranger said to both of them.

"Completely insane," Bobby agreed, staring straight ahead.

"Fucking nuts," Tank added, while showing unusual interest in the changing floor numbers above the door.

"So crazy, it just might work," Ranger mumbled as the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

They returned to the conference room on five and shared the women's proposal with the rest of the team. For a few moments everyone just sat, digesting the idea.

Finally, Lester spoke up. "I think it's a great idea. We have damn few men that Sandor doesn't know. We have the floor plans for the bar. Two or three men should be able to search the place in less than ten minutes if they don't have to worry too much about being discovered. I've seen some of those women party, first hand. I know they can cause a distraction worthy of their Jersey heritage to gain us that kind of time." He smiled as he pictured the trouble these women could cause. He was actually sad that Megan couldn't be part of it.

The rest of the men shook their heads in agreement.

Ranger looked at Tank.

"I think it can work. At best we find Bomber inside and bring her home. At the very least we'll be able to eliminate the bar as a possibility."

"Bobby, what do you think?"

"The girls know what they're getting into. We talked to them at length about the dangers. They pretty much had their minds set before they got here. If we turn them down, I wouldn't be surprised if they flew down there themselves and tried it anyway."

Ranger chuckled. From the determination on their faces, it's what he thought too. "That's just what Stephanie would do if it was one of them." He shook his head in disbelief that he was going to go along with this crazy plan. "Tank, go let them know. They're in." He looked at his watch. "Tell them they have one hour to pack and get back here before we take off for Newark."

"Yes sir." Tank smiled at the reception he was going to receive downstairs.

It was just before noon on Sunday when the twelve men and six women boarded the RangeMan plane in Newark and headed for Miami to find Stephanie Plum.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	16. Chapter 16

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's Note: I am still in total awe at the support that you all have given me on this story. I've been touched by reviews that reveal how emotionally drawn into this story so many of you have become. I'm still working hard not to disappoint your expectations for the next set of circumstances Stephanie will find herself struggling with.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 16

Stephanie was exhausted after taking her shower. She was still feeling the effects of the drugs they had used to control her during the long trip. Colleen gathered up her supplies and left Stephanie to take a nap.

When she woke later, Steph had no idea what time it was. The room didn't have a clock, but it was dark outside. In the bathroom she discovered that a few more items had been left for her on the sink; a small basket of lotions, deodorant, and a tray with some basic cosmetics. There was still no comb or brush, so she spent a few minutes fingering her curls back into some sense of order. It felt odd to have her left hand free of the cast. Her wrist was still sore and some minor bruising remained, but other than that, it was a relief not to have the restrictions of the fiberglass brace any more.

There was a knock at the door, and Colleen entered carrying a dress bag. Stephanie stepped out of the bathroom.

"Good, you're awake!" Colleen's chipper voice exclaimed. "I have a dress for you to wear to dinner."

"I told you I'm not going to dinner!" Stephanie said in a tight voice.

"You have to." Colleen replied. "It's expected, and if you don't go down to dinner, you won't get anything to eat. Grayson was very firm about that." She hung up the dress bag in the closet and set a pair of shoes on the floor underneath it. She also set a small pile of folded clothes on the bed. "I had your undergarments washed, and I brought you some casual things. Tomorrow there will be some other clothes more suitable for the weather here." She sighed and turned to face Stephanie. "Please come to dinner. I don't get to see other women very often. We're sort of secluded out here at the beach, and Grayson doesn't entertain much."

Stephanie looked at the young girl standing there practically begging her to come to dinner and decided she wasn't going to get any answers about why she was kidnapped by sitting in this room and starving herself. At least, if she went to dinner, she would get to see more of the house and possibly discover a way to escape.

"Alright," she conceded. "I'll get dressed and come to dinner. Do you know who will be here tonight?"

"Jake is still here, so I'm assuming he'll stay for dinner before heading back into town for the night. He has a room above one of Grayson's businesses; a bar. He rarely stays here overnight. Other than that, it will just be you and me and, of course, Grayson." She hurried to the door. "I'll be back for you in an hour. I have to get dressed," she said excitedly.

An hour later, Stephanie was wearing an elegant, red silk wrap dress and a very comfortable pair of matching, Jimmy Choo four-inch, ankle strap heels. Stephanie eyed the heels as a potential weapon if needed. Obviously, the guard at the door hadn't thought of them as a threat, but every Jersey Girl worth her salt, knew the damage a good pair of spike heels could cause.

The house was magnificent. It was tastefully decorated in light, airy colors. The staircase they descended from the second floor was massive. Crystal light fixtures hung from the walls and the ceiling. Expensive, oriental carpets highlighted the polished, marble tile floors. The house was impeccably clean and, like its owner Grayson Murdock, nothing was out of place. From what Stephanie could see, the house reflected a penchant for extravagance and a lavish lifestyle.

Stephanie and Colleen entered the dining room. Grayson was standing at a finely detailed, antique server, pouring a drink. He looked up in open appreciation when the ladies entered the room.

"Miss Plum, good of you to join us. Colleen told me you were…hesitant. I'm glad she was able to convince you otherwise." He looked proudly at Colleen and kissed her on the lips. She glowed at his attention. "You look stunning tonight, my dear." He added. "Can I get you a drink, Miss Plum?"

"No, thank you." Actually, Stephanie wanted nothing more than a good stiff drink right then. She was nervous, scared and relished the idea of an easy trip to denial land. But she needed to keep her wits about her. She needed to figure a way to get away from this lunacy in which she had been trapped.

They had just seated themselves at the table when Jake sauntered into the room. He was every bit as finely dressed as his father, but he didn't carry it as well. There was an edge of coarseness about him. Where his father had mastered the art of falsely presenting himself as respectable, graceful, and refined, Jake Murdock was a novice, a weak imitation, and his fancy clothes did nothing to obscure the crudeness and raw disrespect for women that he had displayed upstairs. He never lifted his eyes off Stephanie as he took his seat at the table.

"I apologize for being late, father," he said, quite respectfully. "I was in your office waiting for that fax you were expecting to come in."

"Did it arrive?"

"Yes."

"Very good. We'll discuss it after dinner."

Dinner was a very formal affair. There were multiple courses of elegant dishes and very little conversation beyond the forced, polite acknowledgements of the quality of the food, and reassurances by Colleen that the household staff was following Grayson's specific orders from everything on how the laundry was being done to the way the yard was cared for. A couple of times Stephanie attempted to ask questions about the purpose of her confinement, but she was blatantly ignored in a fashion that implied her attempted conversation was considered inappropriate. Control freak was an understatement when it came to describing Grayson Murdock.

Stephanie was once again fascinated by the change in Colleen. She was a completely different person around Grayson and Jake. She wondered briefly if the girl's vacillating personality was a form of survival she had found necessary in this bizarre existence, or if she was just as whacko as the others. She was leaning toward the former, but wasn't ready to dismiss the latter.

When Grayson deemed dinner to be over, they retired from the dining room and took up residence in the formal living room. Stephanie was offered a cordial by one of the maids she had noticed serving during dinner. The woman then disappeared from the room.

Stephanie took a small sip of the drink and set it on the table. She was ready for some answers.

"Mr. Murdock. I think I've been quite patient with you since my arrival. I am tired of playing your games. I don't think you did all this to supply a playmate for your mistress. I want to know what the hell I'm doing here and what you intend to do with me."

Grayson didn't even blink at Stephanie's outburst. He looked at his son and gave him a slight nod. Jake stood from his place on the couch and left the room. He returned shortly after, carrying a manila envelope, which he handed to his father.

"Miss Plum, I know how important you are to Carlos Manoso, and I imagine you believe he is, at this very moment, out desperately searching for you. But I assure you, you couldn't be more wrong." Grayson opened the envelope, pulled out a newspaper and laid it on the table in front of Stephanie.

Stephanie looked at the headline on the front page of the Trenton newspaper; _'Bombshell Bounty Hunter - Killed in Fiery Explosion!'_ She gasped and grabbed the newspaper. It was dated Wednesday, November 24. Stephanie quickly scanned the article and looked up at Grayson in disbelief. "I don't understand. This says that I was killed in my car at the Quakerbridge Mall."

"Yes," he said, pulling out another paper and once again laying it on the table. "This one is from the next day. Thanksgiving Day, to be more precise."

Stephanie looked at the second headline; _'Bounty Hunter's Death – Murder'_.

"You're quite popular in Trenton." He threw out another paper. "You made the headlines every day."

Friday's headline read; _'Stephanie Plum Funeral Expected to Draw Crowd'_, and underneath in a smaller headline; _'No Suspects Yet in Case - Trenton PD Stumped'._

The final paper he laid on the table was obviously the fax that had made Jake late to dinner. It was a copy of the front page of today's paper. Saturday, November 27; _'Hundreds Mourn Trenton's Bombshell Bounty Hunter'_. Tears threatened in Stephanie's eyes, but it wasn't the headlines that caused them to appear. The picture underneath the headline and the accompanying caption took her breath away. The photo was of Ranger, standing at a graveside. He was wearing dark glasses and a dark wool overcoat. The image in the fax was grainy, but it was Carlos. He looked…lost…broken. Holding his left hand was Julie, her face sad and tear-stained. Underneath it read; _'Wealthy security expert, Carlos Manoso, mourns the loss of rumored girlfriend, Stephanie Plum.'_

Stephanie felt sick to her stomach. She felt the room closing in on her and panic setting in. She grabbed the papers, bolted out of the living room and up the stairs. Back in her room she dropped the articles to the floor, dashed into the bathroom, and vomited until her stomach had nothing left to give up. When she was able to stand, she grabbed a washcloth and cleaned herself up. She returned to the room to find Colleen sitting on the floor looking at the articles.

"I'm sorry," she honestly conveyed. "I didn't know he had done this."

Stephanie grabbed the papers from Colleen's hands and climbed onto the bed. She laid the articles out in front of her and read each one. Eventually she lifted her face from the printed stories and looked toward the darkened windows. "He thinks I'm dead," she whispered. "They all think I'm dead," she continued dejectedly. "He isn't looking for me." She felt a strong urge to curl up and die. To know that help was not coming, drowned her spirit and over-powered her mettle. She had counted on only needing to hold on long enough for Carlos to save her...and now that wasn't going to happen. "I want you to leave," she said to Colleen without looking at her.

Colleen had been standing at the end of the bed wanting to help in some way. "Would you like…"

"Get out!" Stephanie shouted.

"Okay," Colleen conceded. "If you change your mind…"

"Get. OUT!" Stephanie pointed at the door, still not willing to look at her.

Colleen turned and left the room.

Stephanie gathered up the papers and threw them on the floor. She angrily pulled off the fancy dress and shoes she had been required to wear for dinner and put on the lightweight yoga pants and tank top Colleen had brought into the room earlier. She climbed back into the bed and cried. She knew there were questions she should be asking. She knew there was information she needed, but right now, all she could think about was that she was here in Miami, a prisoner in a mad man's house. And she was alone. There would be no Ranger coming to free her. There would be no Merry Men working tirelessly to find her. No one knew she was here, alive and being held against her will…and she was scared.

Stephanie slept off an on for the next several hours. Between the nightmares that haunted her dreams when she was asleep, and the fear of Jake or Marcus entering her room when she was awake, it was a long night. She had spent the entire night with one of the Jimmy Choo shoes in her right hand. It was near dawn on Sunday morning, and she was tired of fighting the routine and got out of the bed. She flipped the switch for the overhead light, gathered the newspapers from the floor and once more read through the stories. One of the articles said that Ranger and Lester had witnessed her death. She couldn't begin to imagine the torture they had endured, believing she was in that car_. _

"But I wasn't in that car," she murmured to herself. "How could they have seen me…"

Stephanie suddenly remembered the ID card she found in the pocket of the clothes she was wearing. She ran into the bathroom and removed it from the drawer.

"Oh, god," she spoke to the card. "It was you, wasn't it?" She ran a finger over the picture of Chelsea Grant. "I'm so sorry. He used you as a body double to fake my death." She went back to the paper and more closely studied the photo accompanying one of the front-page stories. She could see by the total destruction of her car that not much of the girl could have been left for identification. And if there had been witnesses acknowledging that it was Stephanie that was in that car, they probably did not invest too much into positively identifying the remains.

Stephanie was starting to get to get a better idea of how ruthless and sick Jake Murdock really was. What he had done to get her to Miami. He confessed to raping and killing the young girl in the bar. He had somehow convinced this college student to get into a car that exploded, ending her life as well. The nausea started to return and so did the signaling pain at the back of her neck. Stephanie knew she would be in trouble if she had one of her headaches now. She would be defenseless. She went into the bathroom and ran a washcloth under some cold water then pressed it to the back of her neck to try and ward it off. Bobby had warned her after the last one, that hot water would only increase any swelling and possibly make the headaches worse. She climbed back into the bed and tried to relax, but when she closed her eyes, she could only see the two young girls who had died terrible deaths because of her.

She must have lain there for another ten or fifteen minutes trying to fight the pain. When she realized it was only getting worse, she stumbled out of the bed and headed to the door. She pounded on it and yelled for help.

The door opened, and a burly man leaned in. "What's the problem?"

The gruff voice of the guard cut through her pain as she sunk to the floor hoding her head. "I need medication," she ruggedly pushed out. "For the headaches. I need my medication." Stephanie was whimpering now. She didn't look up, but she could hear the guard talking to someone, possibly on a cell phone.

When the guard closed his phone, he picked her up and carried her back to the bed. He remained at the side of the bed until another person entered the room. He then returned to his station outside the door.

"Stephanie, what's the matter?" Colleen's concerned voice asked.

"Headache," was all she could say as she continued to grab at her head with both hands and rock back and forth.

"We were prepared for these. I have your medication. I'm going to inject you with it, okay?"

Stephanie was in no position to object. The pain was so intense; she would have accepted help from Jake Murdock to end it. She felt Colleen's hands take a grip of her arm and then a slight sting followed.

"There," she soothed. "You should start to feel better soon."

The next time Stephanie became aware and opened her eyes, bright sunshine was flooding the room. She grimaced at the twinge of pain the light caused, and she turned her head away from the window.

"I'm sorry," Colleen said. "I should have closed those curtains earlier." She stood from the chair she had been occupying next to the bed and quickly pulled the silk curtains closed. "Is that better?"

"What happened?" Stephanie asked in a groggy voice.

"You had one of your headaches, but I gave you some medicine and you fell asleep for a while; just a couple of hours really. How do you feel?"

Stephanie struggled to sit up. "Better."

"Are you hungry? You really should try to eat something. I'm sure the fact that you haven't really kept anything down since you got here hasn't helped."

"Maybe in a little while. My stomach is still a little unsettled." Stephanie replayed what she could remember. "You said you were prepared for my headaches. How did you know about them, and how did you know what my medication was for them?"

Colleen sat back down in her chair. "Jake is the one who kept an eye on you for Grayson while you were in the hospital. He had an inside source giving him information on your condition. When you were released and then moved back to Trenton, his source kept him informed about your recovery. He knew about the headaches and what you were being given for them. Grayson made sure that we had the same medication here for you when you arrived."

So many questions were swimming around in Stephanie's still foggy head. She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "If someone was giving Jake information about me while I was in the hospital and after I got back to Trenton…it had to be…someone close to me." The realization that someone had betrayed her was a shock. She had trouble believing it. "Who would do that to me?" She said, totally bewildered.

"I don't know who it was." Colleen replied. "But, if I know Jake, it wasn't someone who had much of a choice. My guess is; he was blackmailing them. He's done it before."

"But why would he need to know that information? Why would Grayson, or Jake, or whoever, even care about my condition?"

"I'm not told everything about what and why they do things around here. But I do know that Grayson was adamant about you being better before you were taken. He wanted you to have your memory back and to be healthy. When Jake was told that you were just dealing with the periodic headaches, that's when Grayson told Jake to go ahead and take you. I was only told about the medicine, because it would be my job to take care of you. Grayson knew I had experience with giving injections."

That last statement intrigued Stephanie. She made a mental note to ask Colleen more about that later. But right now she still had a lot of other questions.

"Why was Grayson interested in my welfare to begin with? Why am I so important?"

"I can answer that." Grayson's voice was a surprise. Stephanie didn't even hear him open the door. He was standing in the doorway. Again, even at this early hour, he was impeccably dressed. Not a hair out of place, not a wrinkle in his suit. He stepped completely into the room and closed the door behind him. Colleen quickly stood up and her demeanor changed instantly.

"Grayson." She smiled. "Stephanie is feeling better. I was just asking her if she wanted to try to eat something."

"Thank you my dear. Why don't you go down to the kitchen and get her a light breakfast. Some dry toast and hot tea, I think would do nicely."

Colleen gave him a kiss on the cheek and left the room.

Stephanie was feeling a little self conscious about her state of dress. She had pretty much decided that the nuts didn't fall far from the tree in this family, so she pulled the sheet up a little closer to cover the thin tank top she had put on before falling asleep. "I want some answers."

"I would have given them to you last night, but unfortunately you weren't in any condition to hear them." There was a hollowness to his sympathetic words.

Stephanie wasn't sure she was actually doing that much better now, but she needed answers. "I'm ready to listen now," she said. "Why did you send Jake to keep an eye on me while I was in the hospital?"

"I told you before, I need you to help Marcus' problem go away."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I'm going to use you to force Carlos Manoso to get his employee's sister to drop the charges against Marcus."

"But you showed me the newspapers. Carlos thinks, I'm dead."

"Yes," he replied with a sinister smile. "That was an unexpected benefit to the altered plan. Originally, Jake was just supposed to kidnap you and bring you here before Manoso returned from his trip. But my son can be a little…unpredictable and impetuous sometimes." Grayson moved to the chair that Colleen had vacated. "He's always felt second best to his cousin, and he is constantly vying for my attention by trying to impress me with his creativity. When I sent him back to New Jersey after you returned to Trenton, he decided to add his own special flare to the assignment." Grayson's tone reflected a great deal of pride in his son's achievement.

"Special flare? You make it sound like he was decorating a room! He killed two innocent girls!"

Grayson ignored Stephanie's comment. "Anyway, now everyone thinks your dead." He spoke as if the idea was amusing. "It's not a problem though. If anything, Jake bought himself some time to get you back here without any trouble, since no one was looking for you." He looked at Stephanie and reached up to pat her hand. "Don't worry, my dear, Manoso is a smart man. He might figure it out eventually. If he doesn't, we'll give him a clue or two when we're ready to negotiate with him."

"Negotiate?"

"Yes. Your life for Marcus' freedom." He smiled as if he were quite pleased with his own plan.

"So you're saying that I'm going to be used as a bargaining chip?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Ranger won't negotiate." Stephanie tried to sound sure of herself.

"Oh, I think he will. Any man that spends the kind of money and manpower protecting a woman, like he did with you, will negotiate for her return. Poor man's been so miserable the last several days mourning your death. Just think how happy he'll be to find out you are alive. After having believed that you were dead, I imagine there isn't anything he wouldn't do to get you back safely."

"You overestimate my importance."

"I don't think so. At least you had better hope I haven't. If I find that you are useless to me...well, let's just say Jake wouldn't mind making sure the that beautiful and touching funeral of yours wasn't a waste afterall."

Stephanie shuddered at the thought of Jake coming near her again. "If I agree to go along with your plan. Will you guarantee my safety? I won't be…damaged…while I'm here?"

Grayson stood up. "My dear, you don't have a choice to agree or not to agree with anything. You are part of my plan, but you have my word, that until a deal is struck, you will be kept completely safe in my home." He headed toward the door. As he reached it, the door opened and Colleen came in carrying a tray. "However," he continued. "My job is to get the charges dropped. After the deal is made, Marcus may have other plans for you. You made him very angry, Miss Plum, and I try not to interfere with my boys' personal pursuits."

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	17. Chapter 17

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's Note: This isn't one of my famously long chapters, however, some pretty important things happen here and, as with all discussions with Jack, it gets pretty heavy and Ranger has to face the music.

Let me know what you think.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

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Chapter 17

The flight to Miami started out noisy. Everyone bustled around the plane trying to find a place to buckle up for take off. Ranger couldn't remember ever having this many people on the plane before, but eventually they settled, and Phil got them off the ground smoothly. Once they were in the air, Ranger asked for everyone's attention.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to everyone here for being part of this mission." He looked at the group of women crowded onto the two small sofas. "Stephanie is fortunate to have friends like you."

"We are just doin' what we know Steph would do for any of us, Batman."

Ranger nodded. "I know you ladies have already gotten together, and have an idea of how you think this distraction will work, but we will run this as a standard RangeMan operation. Every detail must be planned out and followed to the letter," he lectured. "It's important not only for your safety, but for the safety of my men and the other patrons in the bar."

The women all nodded in agreement and understanding.

"I've asked Lester to take point on this. He's going to spend the rest of this flight going over all the plans for your part of the mission. If you have any questions, now would be the time to ask." Ranger stopped and looked to Lester to continue.

"Okay, ladies, we'll arrive in Miami at approximately 3:00. There will be RangeMan vehicles meeting us at the airport to transport us to one of the local hotels. Tank has made room reservations for each of you under an alias. We aren't taking any chances that your real identities will be discovered. We have already witnessed to what extent this family will go to for revenge. RangeMan Miami is preparing new ID cards for you to carry while you're there. As soon as we're done here, Hector will be taking pictures of each of you to fax to the main office. You will have until 9:00 tonight to get yourselves ready for the distraction at the Wild Horse Inn. I know that your departure from Trenton was sort of rushed, and some of you weren't able to pack everything you might need while you're there, so you will have to opportunity to shop for whatever you need."

Cindy raised her hand a little hesitantly, like she wasn't sure she should interrupt. "Lester, I just want the girls to know that they are all welcome to go with me over to my shop and pick out any clothing or accessories they need."

Lester smiled. "There you go, ladies. Sounds like you have a personal shopper available to you." He continued. "Hal has a diagram of the Inn. He's going to go over that with you next. We want you to be very familiar with all the hallways and exits. If something should go wrong and you should need to get out of there, back up will be waiting at strategic points in the parking lot. We've already made a reservation for your party to arrive at 9:30 tonight. At nine o'clock a stretch limo is going to arrive at the hotel to pick you all up. You'll have plenty of cash to throw around while you're there. We want the management to think twice about kicking you out once you start causing trouble. Hopefully they will be so anxious to keep your business, they'll put a lot of focus on keeping you happy and contained, thus requiring a lot of their staff to be quite busy. This will give our men the opportunity to search the premises."

As Lester continued his instructions to the women, Ranger felt the need to step away from the charged atmosphere of the group and headed into the bedroom. As soon as he stepped through the door, he was overwhelmed by images of his previous trip with Stephanie. The powerful connection they had made in that very bed was one of his favorite memories of their time together. He bypassed the bed, took a seat at the small table in the corner of the room and stared out the tiny airplane window.

When Ranger left the main cabin of the plane, his retreat didn't go unnoticed. Hector may have been his primary concern during this whole ordeal, but Jack had also been keeping an eye on Ranger since the explosion of Stephanie's car at the mall. He didn't want to impose unless asked, and he had kept his distance, so far. Because the details of the evening's mission were not directly his concern, he thought this might be a good time to step in and let Ranger know he was there. He'd dealt with Ranger when Stephanie was in the hospital in Philadelphia, and he knew what to expect, but it wasn't going to stop him from trying. He tapped lightly on the bedroom door.

"Enter," Ranger replied from inside.

Jack entered the room and took a seat at the table. Ranger gave him a glance and resumed his gaze out the window.

They sat in silence for a minute or two. Jack noticed the signs of strain in Ranger's face. He hadn't been sleeping well, he determined. That was no surprise. None of them had. At first, it was the overwhelming sadness and guilt. That nagging voice in the back of their minds that told them they should have done more to protect her; that there was something they had missed that they should have seen. He had heard this from many of the men with whom he had spoken over the past several days. And even though he had only known her for a short time, Jack had felt it, too. The giant hole left at RangeMan, and within himself, when Stephanie's energy...her dynamic life force, had been removed from their midst. After the jubilant discovery that Stephanie was still alive, the sorrow and the caustic voice of self-doubt faded away and were replaced by anger and fear. Anger towards Jake Murdock, and in Hector's case, most definately anger toward Megan, and fear of the unknown. Yes, she was alive, but…?

"Tough week," Jack threw out as an icebreaker.

Ranger nodded.

Jack could already see the walls were up, so he jumped right in to the crux of the problem, to get Ranger's attention. "You're relieved that Stephanie is alive, but you're concerned about what she's going through now. In fact, you're so worried about what could be happening to her, that you think it might have been better if she _had_ died in that explosion."

Ranger's head snapped up and he threw a sharp look in Jack's direction. Jack knew he'd hit a nerve.

"Am I right?"

Ranger just held his defiant glare at Jack.

"That's a difficult reaction to deal with. A person can generate a lot of guilt from having thoughts like that. You're thinking to yourself: What kind of man wishes his fiancée was dead?"

There was no reaction from Ranger.

Jack kept pushing. He wanted Ranger to respond. He wanted him to get angry. "Carlos, you're a man who knows better than to believe she's safe and sound. A man who knows from experience that it's likely she's not being treated very well. A man who knows the terrible things that could be happening to a woman in Stephanie's predicament."

"You been talking to Tank?"

"Tank, Lester, Bobby, Hector. Hell, they're all worried about you."

"I can handle this."

"I have no doubt."

"Then what's your concern?"

"I have no doubt that you will lock all this down. You will bury every emotion, go over every detail of the operation, you will be part of this mission, and you will find Stephanie."

Ranger resumed his neutral gaze out the window. "It's what I do."

"But it's different this time. It's personal. You love her. When you find her, you won't be returning some stranger to her family and walking away; mission accomplished."

"I did it when Scrog took my daughter."

"Yes, but even that was different. Stephanie told me that you didn't have much of a relationship with your daughter before the kidnapping. You had the sense of responsibility and the guilt that she had been taken because of who you are, but you didn't have the emotional investment that you have now. Your search is for the one person who has power over you and your heart. The one person who has become essential to your very existence. She's part of you. I've seen the connection you two have."

Ranger looked up at him.

"My concern is...what's going to be left of Carlos Manoso when this is over? This experience will change you. It already has in many ways. It's eating away at your self-assuredness. It's making you doubt your ability to run a company that specializes in security and protection. You have always been the best of the best at what you do, and now you question your capacity to make even the simplest decisions. That's why you turned point on this mission over to Lester, isn't it?"

There was a hint of strain in Ranger's next statement. "The person in charge needs to be objective. I'm too close."

"That's bullshit, soldier!" Jack raised his voice at what he considered to be Ranger's first lie to him, but he was actually pleased. He was getting somewhere. He pointed to the door leading to the main cabin. "There's not a man out there who can be objective when it comes to Stephanie and you know it. She has a profound hold on every one of your men. She has a place in their hearts…so deep...it nearly rivals that of a lover because she offers them something that most of them don't get anywhere else. She offers them acceptance and redemption. You brought her into the lives of a fraternity of men who, by their own designation, call themselves mercenaries. They are hired to do the dirty work of a government that doesn't want the world to know its business. And in the name of national security they are forbidden to reveal their purpose, even to their own families. It's a soul blackening, thankless job. Most of them don't believe they are worthy of being loved or respected because of the terrible things they have been required to do." Jack leaned forward and gave Ranger an intense and forceful eye. "But Stephanie changed all that. She got inside. She understands what they do and the sacrifices they have made, and she accepts them…and loves them…and respects them, not in spite of it, but because of it. And she does it at the expense of the personal conflicts it has caused her with her family and her relationship with Joe Morelli. Because of what she has done and who she is, look at what has happened to your men in the last few months. Many of them, for the first time, are in committed, loving and successful relationships."

Ranger closed his eyes. He knew that everything Jack just said was true. Stephanie had been a salve to so many of their emotional wounds, and she had been selfless about it.

"Carlos, you know that underneath all of her own misguided self-doubt, that Stephanie is a very strong woman. She _will_ make it through this. I believe that. And when she does, she deserves to find that _you_ have made it through this too. You can't let her down. You can't let this bastard's actions destroy what you have spent years achieving. You have to take this experience and learn from it. Make yourself better for it. Make you and Stephanie stronger for it. That's the only way to win in a situation like this."

Ranger finally let a wisp of emotion escape from his control. His voice shook in agony and anger. "I can't stand the thought of what she could be facing. I can't stand the thought that she's out there suffering…god knows what kind of torture or abuse. It's selfish of me to want Stephanie to be alive…to live through that kind of hell, just so I can have her back again."

"I can't deny that those thoughts scare me too. It can be paralyzing if we let it. But we can't afford to be obstructed or even diverted by our fear. Stephanie is out there, waiting. She's counting on you not to give up. And we have to have faith in her that she won't give up either."

Ranger got angry at that statement and pounded his fist on the table. "I will never give up on finding her!"

"Perhaps not physically, but mentally you've taken a step back by giving up control of this mission. And while the reason you stated earlier about not being objective, might pacify those who don't know you well, it's obvious to your closest friends that Ranger has taken a leave of absence, and Carlos is facing a personal crisis, and they're concerned."

Ranger's face was tight with anger, but Jack couldn't tell what he was thinking. He mentally contemplated the differences between Ranger and Stephanie. She was so easy to provoke; so easy to read, and when she got angry, she verbally exploded and became extremely animated. Ranger emotionally withdrew and became dangerously quiet, but his true mental state could be found evident in the almost imperceptible changes in his body language. He mused that their arguments, as a couple, would be quite something to witness.

Jack decided he had done enough for now. He stood up. "Why don't you try to get some rest? You look like you could use it. I'll be around if you want to talk so more."

He stepped out of the room to rejoin the planning session with the rest of the team. He closed the door and prayed that the sermon he'd just delivered would serve as a catalyst and generate the desired response.

Jack had only taken a couple of steps when a horrendous commotion, combined with an agonizing roar, reverberated from the other side of the door. If Jack had to guess, Ranger had just violently ripped up one of the upholstered chairs bolted to the floor of the plane and had thrown it into the large screened television on the wall. The noise was followed by several objects, most likely the large collection of DVDs, being swept from the cabinet shelves and scattered to the floor.

All conversation in the main cabin ceased as shocked faces turned toward Jack and the disturbance emanating from behind the bedroom door. Both Hector and Tank took protective steps toward the sound, but Jack put his hand up to halt their intentions. "Give him a few minutes," he said. "Ranger's back and he's kicking Carlos's ass."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

After eating some of the breakfast that Colleen had brought up, Stephanie took a shower and spent the rest of the morning locked in her room alone. With nothing else to do, she spent her time trying to figure out a plan of action. When she would hit a dead end in her thoughts, she would dose off and sleep for a while, still trying to shake the effects of the drugs and medications she had received over the last several days. What must have been around lunch time, Colleen came back. This time she brought more clothes.

"I hope these are okay, she said. "I have a much better idea of your size now that you're here. Grayson wants us to join him for lunch on the veranda."

"Tell him I'm still sick."

Colleen looked worried. "Is your headache back? Because I have more of your…"

"My headache is gone!" Stephanie snapped, and then she regretted it and sighed. "I'm sorry, Colleen, I don't mean to take this out on you."

"It's okay, I understand, Stephanie. You don't want to be here. I get it."

"No, it's not okay! You're not the one who kidnapped me. You're not the one who brutalized and killed those other girls, or blew up my car...causing everyone I know and love to believe I'm dead." Stephanie got up from the bed and pulled Colleen over to sit in one of the chairs at the small table. "Colleen, why are you here? Why do you stay with Grayson?"

Colleen smiled. "Grayson loves me."

"Colleen, he's old enough to be your grandfather for god's sake! How did you even meet him?"

"Through one of my friends. Her parents own a catering business. I worked for them in the summers and on weekends as a server. Last spring, they were hired to cater this fancy business dinner for one of Grayson's companies. When I served him his meal, he smiled so sweetly at me. Later, after dinner, when I went back to his table to remove his plate, he took my hand and thanked me for the wonderful service. He handed me his card and asked me to call him the next day. He said he had some private work he could use me for."

Stephanie was getting seriously creeped out just listening to the story of the old man hitting on a teenaged girl, but Colleen was almost gushing with delight at the memories that were sparked by her retelling.

"Anyway, he really didn't have any private work for me."

"Nooooo," Stephanie drawled out sarcastically.

"He just wanted to meet me." She smiled with all the innocence of a school girl with her first crush. "We had our first date the next night, and we've been together ever since. I moved in here as soon as I was finished with school."

"You _do_ know he's married?"

"Of course I do. But she lives in town. They're separated, kind of."

"Kind of?" Stephanie wanted to shake her. "What about your parents? They can't possibly be okay with this…arrangement."

Colleen looked away, ashamed. "They don't care. My mom probably doesn't even realize I'm not around anymore. And my dad? He only misses me because I'm not there to…" She didn't finish the sentence.

"I can't believe that. They're your parents, they love you." Stephanie took her hand and tried to console her.

Colleen snorted. "Yeah, they loved me alright. Mom just loved me when I would help her shoot up, when she was shaking so bad that she couldn't get the needle in her vein." She lowered her head and shook it at the memory. "My dad…he…loved me." Colleen stared off into the room and unconsciously rubbed her arms and thighs like she was trying to remove a stain.

Stephanie's gut wrenched. She remembered doing that same thing after the Latino gang members had man-handled and pawed at her during the car-jacking in Philadelphia. She couldn't rub hard enough to remove the memory of their dirty touches. Only Carlos was able to make her forget…

"Oh, Colleen." Stephanie slid out of her chair and kneeled in front of the young girl in order to pull her face to hers. "Your father…did he…touch you?"

There were tears pooling in Colleen's eyes. "That's how it started. When I was ten." her voice was so soft Stephanie had to strain to hear the words. Colleen sniffed. "He would come into my room at night. He smelled like whiskey, and he would tell me I was his perfect little girl. He told me that Mommy didn't understand how special I was, and that I shouldn't tell her what we did together because she would get mad at me."

"When did it change from just touching?" Stephanie was carefully negotiating the conversation. She knew she was way out of her league. This was Jack's specialty, but she didn't have much of a choice.

"Maybe when I was thirteen. I don't really remember." She looked up at Stephanie. "When I was old enough, I spent as much time away from home as I could. I stayed at girlfriend's houses; sometimes I would stay with guys that I'd meet." She wiped the tears from her face and sat up straight. "It's getting late. Grayson is expecting us for lunch." She stood up and went over to the closet. "Why don't you wear the sundress you had on yesterday. It looked great on you."

"Sure." All of the sudden Stephanie had an appetite. Not for food particularly, but for a closer look at the relationship between Grayson Murdock and this child before her. Colleen had no idea that she had basically jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire when she met Grayson. She thought she was escaping a rotten, sexually abusive home life, but Stephanie suspected that she really just exchanged it for a fancier version of the same thing. If she could convince Colleen that this was a bad place for her, maybe she could get the girl to help her escape, or at the very least contact Ranger. Yeah, lunch sounded like a great idea.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

The SUVs pulled up outside of the hotel and everyone unloaded, eager to get settled in the hotel. The women wanted to head over to Cindy's store and pick up outfits for the evening. Ranger was sporting a fresh bandage. He had torn some of the stitches out in his left hand and Bobby had done his best on the plane to repair them.

The room assignments worked out pretty well. Ranger and Lester were the only ones given their own rooms. The women were paired, by consent, with their respective men. Hector and Jack also shared a room. The rest of the men were paired up with their RangeMan partners. Cal and Hal, and Max and Junior were assigned as roommates.

Since Sandor's release on bond, Emily Barnes had been under the constant protection of RangeMan, and that wasn't going to change. Even though she could not participate in the bachelorette party, she would remain in the protective embrace of the group from Trenton. She still suffered, psychologically and emotionally from the attack she had endured by Sandor, and she felt safest near Tony. She was sharing a room with Valerie. They had struck up a friendship of sorts on the plane and were quite comfortable with each other.

To the casual observer, it would have seemed like they were all enjoying a beautiful vacation. But each of them knew, without a doubt, that it was anything but. Stephanie's welfare was forefront in their minds.

After an hour or so of unpacking and settling, the group had agreed to meet up in the lounge. Tank and Lula were the first ones there and were snuggled together in a booth, sipping drinks. Tank was organizing the trip to Cindy's boutique.

"You ladies ready to take off?" he inquired when they had all arrived.

They each nodded.

"Hal and Cal are driving. Emily, Cindy and Valerie, you ride with Hal and Tony. Lula, Connie and Adria will ride with Cal and Woody. Remember you need to be ready to leave by 9:00 tonight. You can have dinner in your room or in the hotel restaurant. Just charge it to your room." He looked at Cindy. "Keep track of what they spend at your place. RangeMan's paying."

Cindy nodded and the girls took off with their chauffeurs and body guards.

Tank remained in the lounge after the women left. It was the quietest his day had been since, well, since before Lula had arrived at Haywood with her troops. There was no doubt in his mind that Lula had been the one to come up with this idea and organize the women. She loved Stephanie and felt she owed her for saving her life, in more ways than one. He had spent the whole night cradling that woman in his arms the day they thought Steph had been killed. He never wanted to see Lula in that kind of pain, ever again.

As Tank continued his thoughts in the peace and quiet, Ranger entered the lounge and joined him at the booth. Almost immediately, a very perky waitress appeared to take his order.

"Water," he said without looking up.

The waitress looked a little disappointed that he didn't even give her a glance. She walked away with a little less wind in her sails.

Tank stared at his friend for a moment. "Feel any better?" he nodded at Ranger's hand.

"Hardly notice it."

"Not the hand. You."

Ranger looked up. "What do you mean?"

"I'd hate to think that fifteen thousand dollar repair job you left behind on the plane, was a waste."

"I can afford it."

"No…we can't." Tank's look was dead serious.

"What the hell, Tank?" Ranger's glare went one better.

"I'm not talking about your bank account, man. I'm talking about you. I'm not taking these women in there tonight and putting them at risk, if you can't get your head on straight." Tank sat back and rubbed his hand over his non-existent hair in frustration. "Listen, Ranger, nobody knows better than I do what you've been through this week, but I'll be damned if I'm going to put those women and this mission at risk, because you can't function."

"I'll be fine!" Ranger spoke through gritted teeth.

"Will you? 'Cause I'm not so sure after the last couple of days."

"I said, I'll be fine."

Tank stood up and threw a couple of bills on the table. "You had better be damn sure you are, because if I even think that you're not up to this, I won't hesitate to have you restrained and put in a holding cell down at RangeMan headquarters to keep you out of the way."

As Tank walked away from the table, Ranger's first instinct was to clear the table with his arm in anger. He took a deep breath, counted to five and slid out of the booth.

"Tank!" he yelled in his most authoritative voice. A voice he hadn't used with Tank since he was his commanding officer.

Tank froze in his tracks and a slight grin appeared on his face that he quickly discarded before he turned to face his boss with a blank expression.

"Mats at RangeMan, in one hour."

Tank nodded, turned away from Ranger, and the Cheshire cat smile returned.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	18. Chapter 18

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 18

Stephanie discovered that veranda was just a snobby name for patio and lunch was much like dinner the night before…very formal. Useful conversation was almost non-existent during the meal. It was a beautiful day and Stephanie, for the most part, ignored the superficial exchanges between Grayson and Colleen and took the opportunity to get a glimpse of the property that surrounded her prison. From where she sat, she had a lovely view of the ocean, but because of the way the house was situated on the property, she couldn't tell if there were other houses close by. If she did manage to escape, she would be taking off blind. She had no idea where she was or how to get to help. It was a scary thought, but being in the same house as Jake Murdock or even possibly Marcus Sandor was an even scarier thought. Stephanie decided that if the opportunity arose, she would take it and trust her instincts to find her way to safety.

After lunch Colleen took a long look at Grayson. Stephanie thought she might have been assessing his mood.

"Grayson," Colleen finally said in a small and pleasant voice. "Stephanie has been locked up for days. Do you think it would be all right for the two of us to take a walk on the beach?"

Stephanie couldn't believe her ears. It's just what she needed to get a better idea of her surroundings. She quickly looked over to Grayson for his response. She highly doubted that he would risk allowing her to be seen outside, let alone take a chance that she would run.

Grayson took several seconds to answer. He stared at Stephanie over the top of his glass as if he were sizing up her potential to cause trouble. Stephanie looked him straight in the eye, challenging his intense scrutiny. After realizing that Ranger would not be looking for her, she had made the decision to fight Grayson's attempts at control. She told herself it was to show Colleen that this man was not the adoring, kind, lord of the manner she perceived him to be. But, in actuality, it was just as much for her own benefit. Stephanie was alone in this, and she needed to convince herself that she could stand up to her opponent and that she was capable and willing to fight for her chance for freedom. The longer she held his stare, the more powerful she felt.

Grayson turned to Colleen and gave her a warm smile. "Forbes will accompany you. Why don't you go and find him, my love. I want to have a word with Miss Plum."

Colleen gave him a warm smile of gratitude, stood from the table and entered the house.

Stephanie took an imaginary deep breath, channeled Wonder Woman, and held her cold, hard gaze on Grayson, determined to stay strong. "What are you doing with her? She could be your granddaughter, for god's sake. She's only a child! It's criminal."

Grayson snapped. "She's eighteen; I assure you there is nothing criminal about it."

"Was she eighteen when you met her?"

Grayson didn't answer.

"I thought so," Stephanie spoke with disgust. "You're a sick son-of-a-bitch, you know that? You, your son _and_ your nephew, you treat women like…like cheap, insignificant possessions. You use them and take advantage of them, and then you abuse and discard them without a second thought!" Stephanie's temper was rising. She didn't want to lose control of the conversation so she sat back in her chair and lowered her voice. "What about your wife? Why does she put up with all of this?"

"I don't expect you to understand the relationship I have with Colleen. Frankly, it's not your business, but my wife and I have an understanding. She doesn't meddle in my life, or my son's, and in return she's free to travel, find companionship, and own as many pairs of shoes as she wishes."

"You pay her off just like you did with that university in Alabama when Marcus got himself into trouble there."

Ignoring her statement, Grayson got up and poured himself another drink from a cart near the table. "Have you ever played chess, Miss Plum?"

Stephanie wasn't sure where he was going with this, but she played along. "No, can't say that I have. I'm more of a Monopoly kind of girl."

"That's a shame. I think you'd be very good at it. At the very least you would appreciate it." He slowly returned to the table and took his seat again. "You see it's all about strategy and outsmarting your opponent." He eyed her critically once more, took a drink, and then very properly dabbed his lips with his napkin. "You know all about that, don't you? You strategized and outsmarted my nephew Marcus when you assisted in his capture and arrest last month. But you made a very big mistake, Miss Plum."

"What's that?"

"You made your last move and put your opponent in check, but you didn't finish the game. You didn't call checkmate. You should have finished him off when you had the chance."

"It was not my place to play judge, jury and executioner. My job was to make sure he got to the police so he could face the charges against him according to the law."

"Well, it's too bad for you that we don't play by the same rules, Miss Plum. Marcus is out of jail, and he's quite anxious for a rematch, and I don't think you can win this one."

"What are you saying?" Stephanie was still maintaining some semblance of bravado.

"I'm telling you, my dear, that as long as you do as I ask, I will adhere to my word and you will be protected in this house. Neither Marcus nor Jake will be permitted to lay a hand on you." He stood up from the table and laid his napkin on his plate. "But if you cross me. If you take advantage of my hospitality and abuse my generosity with your freedom, before this deal is made with Manoso, I will not hesitate to turn my back on anything they wish to do. And they both can be very…creative when motivated." He gave her another one of his sinister grins that made her stomach contemplate ejecting its contents. "Be careful, Miss Plum. Manoso only needs to _believe_ you're still alive and well. Once the charges are dropped against Marcus, it won't matter what condition you're returned in; if you are returned at all." He turned to leave, but called back to her as he entered the house. "Make sure you and Colleen are back in time for afternoon tea."

"Well, hell," Stephanie muttered to herself after he was gone. "That didn't go exactly as I hoped."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie and Colleen took a long, steep set of rock steps that descended to the beach. Forbes turned out to be the man that had been standing guard outside Stephanie's door for the last two days. He was Grayson's version of Cal. He was large, muscled, and totally bald. But instead of a skull tattoo across his forehead, he sported an elaborate Japanese dragon that engulfed the entire top of his head with the spiked tail winding its way down behind his left ear and around his neck to his right shoulder. He was a bit overdressed for the beach in his ill-fitting, blue suit, and he didn't try to hide the fact that he was carrying at least one gun in a shoulder holster. He followed at a respectful but safe distance behind the two women as they pulled off their shoes and strolled along the soft sand just at the edge of the rolling water.

The walk on the beach was bittersweet for Stephanie. She loved the beach and it had always been one of her favorite places to escape to, even as a child. But the last time she was at the beach had been on her birthday with Ranger. It had been one of the most wonderful days she could ever remember. They had played in the water and soaked up the sun. The memories made her miss him even more. She fought the tears that threatened from the emotional tug she felt in her heart. What she wouldn't give to be back in his arms right now.

Colleen took several looks back at Forbes as they continued along the beach. Between his distance and the thunderous sound of the surf, she was sure he couldn't overhear their conversation.

"Stephanie?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you have any children?"

Stephanie stopped briefly in her tracks and looked at Colleen. "No, why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," she shrugged, and they resumed their walk.

Stephanie could tell from her body language that Colleen had something she wanted to say, but was hesitant to say it. "Have you and Grayson talked about having children?"

"Oh, no!" Colleen exclaimed. "Grayson can't have children. After Jake was born, he didn't want any more children so he…" Colleen blushed and struggled to say the words.

"Had a vasectomy?" Stephanie finished for her.

Colleen nodded.

A bit further down the beach they came to an enormous alignment of boulders that began on the sand and jutted out several hundred feet into the ocean, creating a breaker of sorts that the waves noisily crashed upon.

"This is one of my favorite places." Colleen climbed up the rock pile and took a seat upon one of the flatter surfaces.

Stephanie followed and sat next to her. As she tried to settle herself, she took a 360-degree look at her surroundings. Way out on the rocks, a large flock of seagulls took turns briefly perching and then diving into the surf in search of food. To her right, there was another house about a quarter of a mile down the beach. It sat further from the shore than the house in which she was being held captive. Stephanie wondered if anyone lived there, and if they did, whether it would be a safe place to look for help if she managed to escape. She noticed Forbes camped out at the base of the small mountain of rock, not looking particularly alert. When she had found a semi-comfortable place to perch, she absent-mindedly plucked away at the loose rocks and debris that had accumulated on top of and in the crevices of the boulders. She picked up a couple of small stones and threw them one at a time into the sea. It was something she had done as a child and had always found it soothing. It was a way to think and keep her hands busy at the same time. When her hand was empty she scoured the area around her for more. She lifted a particularly interesting rock that contained bits and pieces of shells and caught sight of a short, rusty length of wire. She looked over her shoulder to see if Forbes was looking her way. He was so far below them, his line of sight wasn't an issue. She turned her head toward Colleen and found her gazing far past the ocean in both place and time. She covertly used her longest nail to pick at the wire until she was able to loosen it from its snug resting place in the crevice. It suddenly broke loose and made a small metallic tingle sound as it bounced twice before rolling back toward its long time home. Stephanie stopped its progression with a single finger, rolled it back up the stone and into the palm of her hand. Once secure in her firm grip, she slipped it into the pocket of her sundress. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Escape was a step closer to becoming a reality.

"I come here a lot…to think."

Colleen's words drew Stephanie from her private celebration. "What do you think about?"

"Things," she vaguely replied.

"Colleen, before you got involved with Grayson, did you have any plans for college or a career?"

"College!" she snorted. "I never would have been able to go to college. There was no money for college."

"But didn't you dream about something special? Something that interested you. Something you wanted to do with your life."

Colleen looked out into the ocean. "Sure, but it was never going to happen."

"What was it?"

"I can draw. I like to draw."

Stephanie smiled. "That's something I could never do. I never really got past stick figures. What do you like to draw?"

"Well, my mother liked it when I would draw pictures of her dogs. She had three dogs; a Doberman, a beagle, and a Springer spaniel. When I was little, she would buy my pictures for a quarter, but if they were of the dogs, she would give me fifty cents."

"That's nice, but what do _you_ like to draw."

"Clothes." Colleen sighed. "I like to design and sketch clothing. In high school I took every art class and home ec class they had to offer. I designed and sewed that dress you're wearing."

Stephanie looked down at the sundress. "This? Really? It's beautiful. It fits perfectly."

"That's because I made it for you."

"What? How did you…? You brought this into my room the first day I was here!"

"I saw pictures of you weeks ago. Grayson showed them to me. I just guessed on your size from those. When you actually got here, I made a few adjustments on some of the other things I made for you. I designed the dress you wore to dinner last night too."

"What kind of pictures did you see of me?"

"Some were from newspaper articles, a couple were photographs. I know that Marcus gave those to Grayson. I don't know where he got them from."

Stephanie got a sick feeling. It was the same feeling she got every time she had a stalker. She sat on the rock and looked out over the ocean. She needed to find a way to get out of her room tonight. She knew the guard would be placed outside her door, but the French doors leading to the balcony were unguarded. She had needed a tool to pick the lock and she was pretty sure the wire in her pocket would work.

"Colleen, doesn't Grayson want you to succeed? Wouldn't he send you to school?"

"No, Grayson's kind of old fashioned that way. He wants me to stay here and run his household. I make a lot of my own clothes though. He makes sure that I have everything I need for that."

"But this dress and the one I wore last night are really beautiful. You have a lot of talent. Don't you want to do something with it? Wouldn't you like to see other people wearing your designs?"

"Sure, it was exciting to see you wear my dress last night, but Grayson wouldn't allow me to get a job or go to school. It wouldn't be good for his image. As it is, he tells everyone I'm twenty-three."

"Colleen, you don't have to live like this. You don't have to be chained to this house, hidden away from your future. My god, you're only eighteen years old. You have an entire lifetime ahead of you that you should be looking forward to and enjoying!" Stephanie threw her hands up in exasperation. "You should be dating boys! Not living with an old man. You should be sneaking into bars with a fake ID. You should be out in the world raising hell, because you're young and it's your right. Not sitting in this house playing madam to Grayson and his boys. Colleen, this man has involved you in a crime. Kidnapping is a federal offense. You could go to jail!"

Stephanie got so caught up in her rant that she didn't notice the tears running down Colleen's face until they dripped to her lap and the young girl made an attempt to swipe them off her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Colleen. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"Everything you said is true, but I can't have those things and do those things. I'm not even sure I'll still be living here in another couple of months."

"Why?"

"Because I'm…I'm pregnant. And when Grayson finds out, he's going to be very angry and he'll probably kick me out."

"But I thought you said Grayson couldn't have…Colleen who's the father?"

"It doesn't matter. It's not Grayson's and I can't tell him who the father is. So he'll hate me, and I'll lose him, and then I'll be homeless. I can't go back to my parents, Stephanie, I just can't." The tears were coming full force now and Stephanie was still trying to process the information.

"Colleen, what do you mean you can't tell him who the father is? Did you have an affair? Are you afraid he'll hurt the man?"

Colleen shook her head. "No, I would never cheat on Grayson. I love him too much to do something like that."

The truth instantly struck Stephanie like lightning. "It was Jake or Marcus, wasn't it, Colleen? Which one?"

Colleen wiped her face once more and suppressed the remaining tears. She took a nonchalant look back to make sure Forbes was still too far away to overhear. Then she turned back to stare out over the beautiful blue ocean. "It was Marcus," she confessed in a small but unwavering voice. "The day he was released on bail, Grayson insisted that he come here to avoid the media and the surveillance by RangeMan. He was so angry at you, Stephanie. He ranted on and on about getting revenge for the way you tricked him. Grayson assured him they would come up with a plan to get the charges dropped, but I honestly don't think Marcus cared about getting rid of the charges. He was so focused on hating you and getting even with you." She turned and looked at Stephanie. "Only you weren't here and I was." She turned back to the ocean. "The next day Grayson had an important meeting with his attorneys. I've always been a little afraid of Marcus, and with the mood he was in I didn't want Grayson to leave me here alone with him, but Grayson had to go. So I locked myself into my sewing room to stay out of his sight. Grayson hadn't even been gone an hour when I heard Marcus try to open the door. He was angry that it was locked, and he kept yelling through the door about how women thought they could deceive him and make him look like a fool. He disappeared for a few minutes and returned. It only took him seconds to get the door opened."

The tears she had been able to repress began to flow once again. This time Colleen didn't try to stop them or alter their path. She was in another place. She was back in that sewing room and the sunny day and inviting ocean were gone from her sight. "His eyes…they were…crazed and dark."

Colleen didn't speak for several moments, but Stephanie could see that she was reliving every detail of the attack and put a hand on her arm in comfort. Colleen blinked twice and returned to the present; the terrible assault on her body over. She looked once again at Stephanie. "He called out your name…during." She shook her head to rid it of the memory. "When he was finished, Marcus warned me that if I told Grayson, he would tell his uncle that I had seduced him, and that we had been having an affair for months. I never said a word."

"Colleen, I'm so sorry. You suffered because of me. Because of what I did to him."

"No, Stephanie. I suffered because Marcus is a sick man. He should be locked up."

"What are you going to do…about the baby?"

"I don't know."

"You're going to start to show soon, Colleen. You must be nearly three months along and you're so tiny. I don't think you're going to be able to hide it much longer before Grayson notices."

"I don't want this baby, Stephanie. I don't want Marcus's baby."

When she looked at Colleen, she appeared every bit as young and naïve as her mere eighteen years indicated. Stephanie thought about herself at that age and was thankful that her encounter with Joe behind the éclair case, when she was only sixteen, had not resulted in a pregnancy. She had been lucky. Colleen's tragic account also brought back the memories of when Stephanie herself had been the victim of Marcus's crushing strength and feral lust. Had she not been working for RangeMan in a distraction, her encounter with him would have ended not so differently from Colleen's. He had been forceful and insistent, and if she hadn't had the stun gun he would have easily overwhelmed her.

Stephanie was also glad that before she had left the hospital last month, she had made the decision, with the help of one of the on staff gynecologists, to switch from daily pills for birth control, to the Depo shot that she received only once every three months. Stephanie had to be realistic. Her position in this place was precarious. The threat of a violent sexual attack was scary enough. She didn't need the additional worry of a possible pregnancy if Grayson wasn't able to protect her as he had promised. The fact that one of them had had the gall to assault and rape Colleen didn't bode well for his ability to maintain the control over Jake and Marcus that he highly touted.

Stephanie decided this would be a good time to try to pull Colleen from the dark side, so to speak. "Colleen, you have options. I can help you. If we can get away from here, I can get you all the help you'll need. I promise I will make sure you are protected, and you will be able to make a decision about the baby…that's right for you." She forced Colleen to look at her. "You don't even have to stay in Miami. You can go anywhere you want, and I'll help you start over. You can go to college, get a job."

Colleen looked shocked at what Stephanie was suggesting. "I can't leave Grayson! I love him and he loves me."

"What about the baby?"

Colleen looked away as if, like a child, she believed that the problem would go away if she didn't face it. "I don't know….I…I need more time. I'll figure something out. Grayson will never know about the baby." She started to stand up from her place on the rocks. "We need to get back now. We've been gone too long, and Grayson will worry. Sunday afternoon tea is his favorite."

Stephanie put a hand on her arm to stop her. She looked Colleen right in the eye and pleaded with her. "Don't do anything yet, Colleen. Think about what I've said. I really want to help you."

Colleen didn't respond. She just turned and started her descent to the sandy beach.

Stephanie followed. As they climbed the steps back to the house, she counted. With or without Colleen's help she needed to get away tonight, and the beach would be the easiest way to gain distance, but it would be very dark. She prayed that she would get a chance to use Ranger's valuable lesson.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Sweat poured down Tank's bald head, and he was breathing heavily. He had a split lip, one of his ribs was a little tender, and he had a carpet burn on the outside of his left thigh where at one point, he was thrown beyond the mat and landed near the treadmills.

Ranger wasn't faring much better. He had a bloody nose, a bruised knee cap, and he'd reopened two of the wounds on his left hand that Bobby had been so diligent at working to heal.

It had been one hell of a fight.

Bobby burst into the gym, looking as if he expected to find the carnage of bloodied bodies strewn across the floor. Ranger and Tank were seated side by side against the far wall, each with a bottle of water in his hand and a towel draped around his neck.

"You two are a mess!" Bobby exclaimed as he visually inspected their wounds. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Tank chuckled. "I was thinking the Boss here…needed a little attitude adjustment and some help focusing on his priorities."

Bobby looked at Ranger.

"Tank was feeling a little neglected and under appreciated. He just needed to share his feelings and blow off some steam. That's all." Ranger took a long swig of his water.

"Yeah? Well, Nick thought you two were going at it to the death. He called me 'cause he didn't want to endanger any of his own men trying to break you two up!"

Bobby sighed heavily as he looked at his friends and their injuries. He stepped over to the opposite side of the gym where a first aid box hung on the wall. He grabbed it and proceeded to empty the contents on the floor in front of the two warriors. When he found what he was looking for, he started with Tank. He handed him some gauze that he doused with an antiseptic. "Put this on your lip. It's going to sting like hell, but it should help."

Tank followed the medic's instructions and grimaced as he tenderly applied the moist bandage to his lip.

Bobby repeated the procedure for Ranger. He shook his head when he saw the fresh stitches torn away. "Damn, Ranger, this was some of my best work. If you don't take it easy, I can't be held responsible for the scars. We're going to need to go upstairs for this." He looked back and forth between Tank and Ranger. "Are you two done measuring your dicks?"

Tank snorted and looked at Ranger. "I don't know, Boss, what do you think? Have we come to a mutual understanding?"

Ranger nodded. "We won't need to have this discussion again."

"Good!" Bobby said. "Now, both of you, get your asses to the clinic. Lester wants to go over a few details before tonight and Nick has some updates. We need to be in the conference room in forty-five minutes."

Ranger stood and offered a hand to Tank. Together they hobbled into the locker room for a quick shower.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Nick and Lester were already waiting when Ranger, Tank, and Bobby entered the conference room. A few minutes later, Hector and Jack followed and took seats at the table as well. Nick pulled down a large wall map of Miami and started the meeting.

"Since you called me late yesterday with the information on Jake Murdock, I've had two teams working non-stop, searching for all the properties that Grayson Murdock owns." He picked up a stack of printed maps each with several properties marked in different colors and passed them around the table. "The man's damn rich and has his fingers in a lot of pudding. We already knew about the bar, and we still believe that it's a good place to start the search. Marcus Sandor has been under surveillance since his release on bond, and the bar seems to be his home base, but we lost him yesterday. Jake Murdock showed up at the bar late last night, alone. He nabbed Bomber last Wednesday and we weren't looking for her then, so she could have been brought in as early as Thursday or Friday without us realizing it. We haven't seen her."

Ranger nodded at Nicks information. "What are some of these other properties you have identified here?" Ranger asked.

"The red properties are office buildings. You can see there are six of them. Five are properties that Murdock owns and leases. The sixth…this one here on Brickell Avenue, is the headquarters to his corporation." Nick flashed a cheesy grin. "You're gonna' love this, Carlos. All six of these buildings are clients of RangeMan Miami."

"Cameras?" Tank smiled.

"Every last one of them," Nick replied. "We've been watching every entrance since yesterday. And because it's a weekend…and a holiday weekend to boot, there hasn't been so much as a cock roach trying to get into those buildings. So we classified them as low priority for now."

"Nice," Lester chimed in. "What's the green?"

"The green properties are businesses. This one's the Wild Horse. We know from our past experience there and from the blueprints we acquired, that it has several living areas in the upstairs as well as a sizable basement. Also, both Marcus Sandor and Jake Murdock have been seen there in the last twenty-four hours, and that keeps it on the top of the priority list. These three here, here and here," he said pointing to the wall map, "are family entertainment venues; A bowling alley, Game Time, which is a restaurant and arcade combination, and the Grapeland Waterpark. I sent a couple of men out to take a look at these properties early this morning. It's possible that they could have her stashed at the bowling alley, but the other two locations are unlikely contenders."

Ranger nodded his agreement with Nick's assessment.

"The other green markers are chain restaurants that Murdock owns. According to the blueprints on the buildings that we were able to obtain, only two of them could possibly be considered. The others are too small."

"Security?" Tank questioned.

"Not us," Nick admitted. "I've had teams stationed around them doing surveillance since yesterday. That leaves these two blue markers, the one yellow marker, and these two black markers." He returned to the map pointing out the locations. "The two black markers are warehouses. They're protected by Armor Security." He looked up at Ranger. "You know the CEO over there, Carlos."

Ranger nodded. "Gabriel Torres. He and I use to jump out of planes together when we were young and stupid. He's a good man."

Nick smiled. "Yeah, he said the same thing about you. Anyway, he was more than happy to take over the surveillance of the warehouses when I explained the situation to him. He sends a report to RangeMan at the end of each shift. Last one came in at 1600 hours." He picked up a copy of the report and handed it to Ranger. "No activity and nothing unusual. We'll get another report at 2000 hours."

Tank leaned forward in his seat. "That leaves the blue and yellow markers. I'm guessing by their locations that those are private residences?"

"Yes," Nick replied and turned to the map once again. "This blue one is a condo at the top of the Four Seasons Hotel downtown. Carries a price tag of two mil."

Lester gave a low whistle. "That's one hell of a price tag for digs!"

"The new guy we hired; Carpenter. He used to date the concierge there, so he did some asking around. The wife lives there…not Murdock. She has a lot of male overnight visitors. Must be one of those _convenient_ marriages. You know the kind where you _conveniently_ forget that you're married? Because, according to the county records, there's never been a divorce. So we dug a little deeper and found that there are three properties listed in her name only. A vacation house in Key West, a condo in Vale, Colorado, and a pretty exclusive beach house just outside of Miami. That's this yellow marker here."

"What made you look in that direction, Nick? That's not typical RangeMan protocol to dig for that kind of information." Ranger was curious.

Nick winked and stretched out a slow smile. "I said to myself: 'Nick, what would Bombshell do in this situation?' And the answer was: 'Hell, Nick, follow your damn nose.' So that's what I did. I followed my gut instinct that told me Murdock was probably using his wife to hide assets in exchange for her pricey personal _freedoms_.

"And you were right." Ranger couldn't help but smile at thought of the effect Stephanie had had on his men here in Miami, even after such a short visit.

"Damn straight," Nick answered. "And that same gut instinct puts that beach house on our list of potential places to find Stephanie. The other blue marker is also on that list. It's an apartment in Miami Beach. Again, it's very upscale. This guy doesn't do anything half-assed. He drives the best cars, eats at the best restaurants and lives in the best places."

"What about women?" Lester asked.

"We have surveillance pictures from this afternoon at the apartment in Miami Beach. The only person seen at the residence is this woman." Nick opened a file and started to pull out some pictures.

"Housekeeper?" Tank questioned.

Nick passed the pictures around. "You ever see a housekeeper dressed like that?" Nick smirked.

The pictures showed a very young, very attractive woman, possibly of Asian or Philipino descent, lounging by a pool wearing a skimpy bikini. In another picture she was dressed in a body hugging halter dress and wearing four-inch FMPs. She was stepping out of the apartment door. In the final picture she was getting into the driver's seat of a Mercedes convertible.

"If that's a housekeeper, I've hired the wrong fucking service for my apartment!" Nick exclaimed.

"What about the beach house?" Ranger asked.

"We can't get anywhere near the beach house for surveillance. It has a security gate all around the property, which is extensive. The only thing we have is a visual of the front gate. When I saw the address for this house it looked familiar, and sure enough, until Sandor was arrested, the house was being protected and monitored by RangeMan equipment. We didn't know it was one of Murdock's properties because the wife doesn't use his last name. Her name is Melanie Scott, and that's the name the account was listed under. All of our equipment was removed when they dropped us as a client, but we still have the records and we have the schematics of the house. If I had to guess, I'd say it's a good bet that this house is where Grayson Murdock is currently living, because there has been activity at the gate. Two cars went in this afternoon, possibly employees…house staff. One delivery truck from a local grocery store also entered at 1:15 pm. The only way to get a look at the house itself is from the ocean side, maybe from a boat."

"Set it up." Ranger ordered.

Nick nodded. "I've already spoken with our usual vendor. He'll have a boat ready first thing in the morning. It was too late to get anything set up for today, and besides it will be dark in a couple of hours and surveillance would be difficult."

"Who put up the bail for Sandor?" Ranger asked.

"Grayson Murdock."

Ranger stood up as if the meeting were over. "If we don't find Stephanie at the bar tonight, I want the beach house to be our next focus. Maintain the surveillance on the other properties…but the beach house makes sense if Grayson Murdock is involved."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

The RangeMan ladies piled out of the SUVs with their hands full of bags. They rushed into the hotel, crowded into the elevator and headed off to their rooms. They had already grabbed a quick bite to eat at the mall before returning, and now they were focused on getting ready.

While the women were busy, the men were also preparing. Lester and Hector had come back from RangeMan with several weapons, equipment, and a communications van.

At 8:15 everyone met up in Lester's room for final preparation and instructions.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Author's Note: I've had so many messages from readers who are anxiously awaiting the bar distraction. It's coming in the next chapter. Thanks to those who have left the encouraging reviews. It's nice to hear your thoughts.


	19. Chapter 19

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's Note: Okay, so many of you have asked for it. It was a daunting task to write this scene well enough to meet all of your expectations. My hope is that after dragging you along on the torturously emotional journey of the last several chapters, that this chapter makes you laugh. But this is me here, and I couldn't help but add a dollop of intrigue and a scoop of emotion into the chapter as well. Please let me know if I succeeded.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 19

Val, Adria, and Cindy looked pretty nervous. They knew a lot was riding on their performance and they were getting ready to do something they had no experience with. But nobody was as nervous as Lester. On the outside, he exhibited the epitome of a calm, cool RangeMan ready to engage in a life or death mission. But as he stood in his hotel suite next to the dining table covered with reports, maps, and five tiny devices that needed to be discretely attached to each of the beautiful women standing before him, he felt oddly uneasy. Ordinarily, touching a woman where he needed to, was not a problem for him. Hell, it was even enjoyable ninety-nine percent of the time, but less than six feet away stood four heavily armed men, monitoring _his_ intentions with _their_ women. He was in charge, and this was his show, so he took a deep breath, bucked it up, and prepared to take one, or five, for the team. He picked up the first microphone transmitter chip and the roll of tape and approached Adria, delicately reaching for the strap of her sequined tank top.

"Yeah, right!" Bobby exclaimed, as he stepped forward and yanked the mic and tape from Lester's hand. "Like I'm going to let you go there!" He nudged Lester to the side with his body and smiled at the relief he saw in Adria's eyes. He tore off a length of tape, took her by the wrist and pulled her toward the bedroom. "We'll be right back."

Tank picked up the second chip. He also tore off some tape and gave Lula a nod to follow him into the bathroom.

"Damn straight, we're going into the bathroom," she loudly announced. "I got way too much prime real estate in here to be flashin' it around y'all. A girl's gotta have some standards!" Lula strutted past the group in her shiny, black, two piece dress with what looked like fifty percent of her prime real estate already quite visible.

When Adria and Bobby returned with their task successfully completed, Woody followed suit, and he guided Connie into the bedroom with all the grace of a Texas gentleman, his hand placed possessively at the small of her back. "If you'll excuse us for a moment," he politely drawled to the group.

Tony felt a little out of his comfort zone. Sure he and Cindy were sleeping together, but he was the new guy to this group of RangeMen, and he hesitated. His little sister Emily was standing next to him and he was also afraid to embarrass Cindy in front of everyone. Before he could make a decision, the bedroom door opened and Connie and Woody also returned to the main room.

Cindy _didn't_ hesitate; she grabbed one of the two remaining mics and some tape off the table, and she took Tony by the hand, leading him into the bedroom, clearly demonstrating who wore the pants in that relationship.

Everyone's attention was diverted and their heads all swung toward the bathroom when a very interesting conversation began spilling out from behind the door.

"You put that thing there, Sugar, and you may never find it again."

"I don't want anyone to see it."

"Ain't nobody going to see it here. B'sides it's so small! How's that itty bitty thing supposed to do the job?"

"It'll do the job, Lula."

"I think it'll fit better if you put it here, Tank."

"I know what I'm doin', Baby, I've done this before."

"Say what? You tellin' me you been doin' this with other women?"

"No, Baby, that's always Ranger's job. But I have helped out a few of the guys before."

"Well, unless I'm mistakin', my equipment is a whole hell-uv-a-lot different than any of the guys', and I'm tellin' you that if you don't put it right here it ain't gonna' work, and you ain't gonna' be satisfied."

"Okay, okay. Stand still and I'll put it right where you want it."

"Damn, Tank! That thing's sticky. Don't you be puttin' it in there and pullin' it out again, I think it took some skin with it. You have to stick it one place and leave it there."

"I'm sorry, Baby, I didn't have it in the right place the first time. How does it feel now?"

"It's better now, but I bet Batman don't hurt White Girl when he does it. He prob'ly puts it in the right place every time."

"Well, he has a lot more experience doing this to a woman than I do."

The main room was deathly quiet as attentions were riveted and imaginations were working overtime in vivid interpretation of what was going on behind that door. Every man standing in the room had a large, silly grin plastered on his face. In fact, Ranger produced the first full-fledged smile anybody had seen in days.

Woody had his arms wrapped firmly around Connie's waist as she was shaking her head and trying to suppress her amusement.

Adria looked captivated and charmed as she stood stock still next to Bobby, listening to the conversation that, obviously, Tank and Lula had no clue everyone could overhear.

Val was mortified, and her face flushed a brilliant shade of red. She had the shocked appearance of someone who had inadvertently walked into a pornographic movie instead of the Disney classic she was expecting. Her discomfiture compounded when she turned away to disconnect herself from the voyeurism and found Lester standing in front of her holding the last mic.

"Sweetheart, the bride-to-be needs her mic." He waggled his eyebrows at her. "Your turn in the bedroom." He nodded toward the door as it opened and Tony and Cindy returned.

Val stared at the mic and glanced down at her cleavage. The blush she was already sporting had now spread to her chest and suddenly the room felt twenty degrees warmer. She looked up at Lester. "I…I…maybe…I could…I don't think you…"

"For Christ's sake, Val." Exasperated, Connie grabbed the mic from Lester's fingers and reached for the roll of tape. "I'll do it. You look like you're about to have a coronary. Geez, you had this same reaction when we played spin the bottle with the Solomon boys and Eddie Gazarra at Mary Jane Dublonski's birthday party in eighth grade."

Val stood frozen, unable to take her eyes off Lester. He winked at her, gave her one of his killer smiles, and her embarrassment was complete. Connie grabbed her by her arm and dragged her toward the bedroom. "Thanks, Connie," she mumbled out sarcastically.

Connie continued as she pulled Val into the bedroom. "Honey, this is supposed to be your bachelorette party. You're going to have to loosen up or we're screwed. We'll start you off with a nice cold Margarita when we get there." There was probably more to Connie's lecture, but it was lost when she closed the door.

The bathroom door opened and everyone's attention swiveled back to Tank and Lula. Tank came out first, followed by Lula, who was focused on her own cleavage as she rearranged 'the girls' in her shirt and was mumbling something about tiny pieces of electronics not being designed for voluptuous, full-figured women.

Tank noticed the curious looks and stopped in his tracks, clueless to the reason for all the attention. "What?" he asked of no one in particular.

"Nothin', man," Lester grinned widely as he replied for the group. "Just glad you survived the mission." Lester wanted to add some other comments, but prudently held back. It was time to get serious.

When all of the women were successfully wired, the sound was checked with a phone call to Hector in the communications van. They also received their new ID cards, some last minute instructions, and a final reminder of the timeline and safety measures. The men finished their preparations by putting on their flak vests and checking their weapons and communication devices.

Included in his final bit of information, Lester reported that according to the latest intelligence from the RangeMan Miami's surveillance team, Jake Murdock's motorcycle had been in the parking lot of the Wild Horse Inn all day, and he had not been seen exiting the building since arriving late the night before. They currently did not have a location on Marcus Sandor. He had effectively eluded their surveillance the day before and had not been seen since, and there still had been no sighting of Stephanie. It wasn't unexpected news, but it drove home the importance of the mission to every soul in the room.

Hector reported that the limo had arrived, and the girls gave their guys one last kiss and prepared to head downstairs. Before Val walked out, she looked over at Ranger. He stood off by himself staring out the hotel window into the Miami night. She approached him from behind and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I won't let you down tonight, Carlos. I won't let Stephanie down." She used the words to hearten herself as much she was trying to assure him.

Ranger sighed and gently covered her hand with one of his own, but didn't take his eyes off his focus in the distance. "She's out there somewhere, Valerie. I won't stop until I find her."

"I know," she gently replied. "Stephanie's very lucky to have someone in her life like you... to love her so much."

"I'm the lucky one."

"I think she'd argue that point."

"She's already tried."

"Oh yeah?" Val asked with a light, teasing tone to her voice. "Who won?"

Ranger released a heavy sigh. "We never finished the discussion."

"Well then, you'll have something to look forward to when we find her." Val smiled as a thought crossed her mind. "If I were a betting woman, Carlos, my money would be on my sister."

Ranger produced a light chuckle. "Mine too." He turned and held Valerie's hand in both of his. "Be careful tonight. I don't think your dad would be too happy with me if I lost another one of the Plum girls."

Valerie nodded and joined the rest of the ladies who were leaving to catch the limo.

In another corner of the room, Tony turned to his sister. "I know we talked about this, Emily, but are you still okay with staying with Jack and Hector in the communications van?"

"I'll be fine, Tony. Don't worry." Emily still looked a little nervous about the separation, but she spoke her words convincingly enough to satisfy her brother.

Jack had been briefed about the situation concerning Emily Barnes and was aware of her fears and Tony's reluctance to leave her side. He walked over to them and put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "She'll be fine with us. We'll take good care of her."

Tony nodded and gave his sister a kiss on the cheek. "I won't be far. I'm not part of the search team. I'll be in the parking lot the whole time. Hector will let you know what's going on."

"I know," she replied. "I'll be fine…really! Go! Do your job and bring back Stephanie," she smiled.

The teams paired up and everyone left the hotel and headed for the Wild Horse Inn.

...XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

When Stephanie and Colleen returned from the beach, Stephanie was 'politely escorted' to her room to freshen up before the late afternoon tea. She immediately removed the wire from her pocket and hid it between the mattress and the box spring of the bed. She took a shower and changed into another one of the dresses and some comfortable flats that Colleen had provided her.

Stephanie spent her required time with Grayson Murdock and Colleen for tea, but for dinner, she feigned a not so severe headache. She was tired, irritable, and needed some time alone to think and work on her plan to escape. She changed into a comfortable pair of lightweight, cotton Capri pants and a scoop neck t-shirt from the assortment of clothes in the closet. They hadn't given her any sneakers, so if she was able to escape it would have to be barefoot.

When she was pretty sure that Colleen and Grayson were both downstairs enjoying their supper, Stephanie pulled the wire from the bed and squatted down in front of the lock on the French doors. Forbes was once again standing guard in the hall, so she would have to be quiet. She briefly wondered when the man ever slept, ate or went to the bathroom.

She inserted the wire into the keyhole and began working it the way Hector had trained her. She smiled when she remembered how patient he had been with her and her repeated failures, and then she blushed when she recalled how he told her that picking a lock was like being with a lover. You had to be gentle and pay attention, and you would feel it respond to you when you got it just right. The amazing thing was that after he explained it like that, she got it right away, and she was able to unlock all of the practice locks he put before her. Stephanie had been so caught up in her memory that she jumped slightly when there was a light click and the lock opened.

"Hector," she whispered. "The next time I see you, I'm going to give you a big kiss."

She didn't plan to leave until well after dark, but from her crouched position, she slowly reached for the doorknob to perform a quick test of her success. She turned the knob to the right and pulled. The door wouldn't open. She tugged a little harder and still nothing. She stood up and pulled, using her whole body to supply stronger leverage. The knob would turn, so she knew the door was unlocked, but there was resistance coming from the top of the door. There was still some light outside so she stood right up next to the glass door and peered out to see if she could spot the problem.

When she caught sight of the gold bracket, she collapsed against the door in frustration.

"Who the hell puts a sliding dead bolt lock on the outside of a door?" she groaned and closed her eyes to prevent tears.

Stephanie slid to the floor as her heart fell and so did the tears. She had just about reached her limit. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see Ranger, touch him, smell him, kiss him. She wanted his arms around her, letting her know she was safe. Stephanie knew she was running out of time. Earlier over tea, Grayson had mentioned that he was ready to move ahead with his plans to make contact with Ranger. He didn't give any other details, just that things would happen soon. She was pretty sure that Ranger would placate Grayson and tell him he would agree to the deal, just to create a diversion. She didn't think that he would go as far as asking Emily to drop the charges, but with Ranger's police and government connections he could probably make it look like they had been. Either way, the negotiations would give Ranger the time he would need to form a plan for rescue. Time that Stephanie knew she didn't have. Grayson had made it quite clear yesterday that once he was convinced the terms of the deal had been met, she would be considered fair game to either Jake or Marcus.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed while she sat there on the floor, but she was spurred into action when she heard voices in the hall. She quickly got up and put the wire back under the mattress then climbed into the bed and positioned herself to look as if she was sleeping.

She heard the door open and Colleen's voice carried across the room. "Stephanie?" she whispered as she came closer. "Are you hungry? I've brought you some dinner."

Stephanie sat up slowly and turned to face Colleen, but didn't respond.

"How do you feel? You look so flushed. Do you think you could eat something?"

Stephanie looked at the tray. In the center was a large, colorful salad that didn't hold much appeal to her. A small dish of dressing sat to the side along with some crackers and a plastic fork But what caught her eye was the plate in the corner of the tray that contained a generous piece of chocolate cake.

"Thank you, Colleen. It's exactly what I needed."

...XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

The reservations for their party were made under Connie's new identity - Constance Johnson. Before they had left the hotel, Lester had explained to them that they were each given a new first name that closely resembled their own to make it easier in case they slipped up or drank too much. So Connie became Constance, Lula became Lucinda, Adria became Andrea, Cindy became Sandy and Valerie became Valencia, so they could still call her Val for short. Their new last names were plain and avoided any ethnic connections.

Their practiced back-story was that they were all friends from Ohio, who were out to party together with their friend Valencia Stevens. They were going to celebrate one of her last nights of freedom before her wedding that was to take place on a cruise ship departing from Miami later in the week. Constance, being the maid of honor, had set up a last minute bachelorette party at the Wild Horse Inn on the recommendation of a friend who lived locally. She had sent a generous deposit of two thousand dollars to the club through the services of a professional party planner. That same party planner had also lined up the limo and some special entertainment for the celebrating group. In the limo they found several elaborately wrapped gifts for the bride that they were to carry with them into the bar. The party planner, a.k.a. someone at RangeMan Miami, had been very thorough and spared no expense.

They were welcomed by an eager hostess and were immediately seated at a large table in the center of the room. They piled the gifts at one end of the table and even before they were all settled, a waitress appeared and took their first drink orders. Connie handed the woman five hundred dollars and told her to keep everybody happy. The ladies started off a bit shy and reserved, but by the second round of drinks, their conversation had become noticeably louder and more animated. They ordered several appetizers for the whole table to share, and over the combination of drinks and food the party began to really kick into gear.

"Let's open presents," Lula shouted. She stood up and made her way to the end of the table. She sorted through the beautiful packages looking for a specific one and let out an elated shout upon finding it. "Ah ha! This one is from me! Open it first, Val." She handed the package to Valerie.

Val was still quite constrained and had barely finished her first drink. She took the package from Lula and opened it. The gift box was pink with the words Victoria's Secret printed on top. Val cautiously opened the lid and removed a sexy, silk and lace, black negligee with pink trim. She held it up and blushed when it was obvious that the silk was only in the trim around the edges and the rest of the nighty was made from a very fine lace that left nothing to the imagination.

"Thank you, Lucinda," Valerie very graciously offered. "It's…a…very…nice. It's so delicate. I'll be afraid to wear it. It looks like it might tear easily if I sleep in it."

"Honey, that's the point." Lula rolled her eyes. "You put this little thing on, strut your sexy ass in front of Albert, and he'll take if right off again. Nobody ever _sleeps_ in one of these babies. It's all about seduction. Damn, girl, how'd you get yourself engaged anyway?"

There were lots of ooohs, ahhhhs, and giggles from the group as the gift was passed around the table for closer inspection.

Cindy grabbed the next gift and handed it to Val.

Val unwrapped the package, opened the box and looked inside, but wouldn't touch anything.

Lula grabbed the box and started digging through the contents and pulling out a selection of massage oils, fruit flavored lubricants, a tube of something called Rock Hard, and a bottle of Comfortably Numb.

"What the hell is Comfortably Numb?" Connie asked.

Lula picked up the bottle and read from the label out loud. "It says; _A mint chocolate flavored desensitizing spray specially formulated to reduce the discomfort associated with oral sex_." She stopped and looked at the group. "Discomfort? Hunh." She continued to read. "_The refreshing mist contains a mild numbing agent that coats the back of the throat, helping to suppress gag reflex and prevent discomfort during oral sex. This special spritz sized bottle is discreet enough to take with you wherever you go, and doubles as a breath freshener as well_." She took off the lid and gave the bottle a little pump. "Look at that, Val, you can just pop this sucker in your purse and have comfortable oral sex on the go, and have fresh breath too!"

Adria was breaking up into hysterics at Lula's reading, but between convulsions was able to blurt out a simple warning. "Yeah, but if it's going to numb your throat, don't count on having much conversation afterwards. And you definitely don't want that to go in his mouth. It would ruin all your own fun."

Her comment brought on a fresh round of raucous laughter and demands for another round of drinks.

"I want to know what that Rock Hard stuff is," Cindy chimed in.

Lula picked up the box and got a great big smile on her face when she silently read the instructions. "Val, this here stuff is for Albert." She cleared her throat and read the product description from the side of the box. "_When you wanna ROCK all night...Rock Hard Power Cream will give you the staying power to satisfy your partner's every need and keep you both rockin' til morning!_"

By now Val had finished her second drink and the description of the Rock Hard cream had her giggling.

The remaining gifts were opened, each one raunchier than the next, and effectively plummeted the group into outbreaks of hilarious commentary and shrieks of laughter. They teased Val about how convenient the crotchless underwear would be when she visited Albert at his office for 'lunch', and since there were five of them she could keep him happy all week. When she unwrapped the "Pin the Junk on the Hunk" poster game, they insisted on hanging the poster on the nearest wall. They blindfolded Val, handed her one of the generously sized paper penises, spun her around three times and pushed her off into the right direction. When she had securely placed the sticky dick, laughter erupted from the entire bar. She pulled off the blindfold and saw that she had attached it to the hunk's left nipple. There was a brief moment when everyone held their breath and stared at Val, trying to gage her reaction.

Val tipped her head sideways. "That would make it damn hard to find a shirt that fits," she mused out loud. "But the oral sex would be easier." The instant she spoke the words, she clapped her hand over mouth and spit out a laugh "I can't believe I just said that!"

"That's okay, honey," Connie patted Val consolingly on the shoulder. "You just keep that Comfortably Numb stuff handy."

At Connie's statement, the small group of women broke out into giggles that slowly grew into outright cackles of delight. Val downed her next drink in record time.

Cindy volunteered to go next and while she was taking her turn, the hostess approached Connie and told her that their entertainment had arrived. Connie thanked the hostess, handed her a hundred dollars and told her to have them set up near their table.

"Oh, my god, you guys they're here!" she said excitedly.

For a Sunday night, the bar was mildly busy, and the noisy but enchanting group from Trenton had the other patrons entertained, and in some cases engaged, in their activities. Several men had sent drinks to their table in acknowledgement of the ladies' celebration, and now Connie wanted them to share in the excitement of their rented entertainment. She wanted to get the whole bar engaged in their little show.

Connie looked at her watch, caught the attention of the waitress and gave her another five hundred dollars. "We're buying drinks for everybody," she shouted to the room. "Whatever they want."

Cheers went up from all over the room. The waitress took the money and began taking orders.

"Everybody, back to the table! It's time! They're here!" Connie ordered. She turned a few chairs around and pushed Val into a seat facing the bar.

"Whooo's here, Con?" Val's words were beginning to slur.

"Your entertainment. The male dancers!" Connie answered. "Geez, Val, you're such a lightweight. Just like your sister. Three drinks and you're crocked! I'm cutting you off. Hey, guys!" she called out to her friends. "No more alcohol for Val. Iced tea and water only! She has to be able to walk outta here later."

Connie and Lula took seats on either side of Val as the hostess brought in a large CD player, set it on the bar and plugged it in. She looked off to her right, nodded like she had received a signal and she pressed the play button.

Loud Latin dance music blasted from the speakers, and two gorgeous men strutted into the space that had been cleared by the bar's staff.

Lula whooped and hollered as the men began their dance fully clothed, one in a cowboy outfit, complete with leather chaps and hat, and the other in ripped jeans, a work vest, utility belt, and construction helmet.

Another round of drinks showed up at the table. The more the girls drank, the less the dancers seemed to wear. Almost everyone in the bar was watching the show and the girls encouraged their attention by standing up and shaking their hips along to the music.

Connie jumped up on the table and coaxed the dancers to come closer by holding up five-dollar bills. The cowboy, who by now was down to just his g-sting and hat, stepped up on her vacated chair to allow her to reach his waist. She carefully tucked in a couple of bills and handed some money down to Val.

"Your turn, Val!" she teased. "This is your party, after all." The Construction worker took the hint and moved over to give Val her own private dance. Val was still quite buzzed but not enough to lose her sense of propriety altogether. She slowly reached out to the man as if he were a snake about to bite. At the last second she covered her eyes with one hand and clumsily stuffed the bills into his g-string with the other, screaming with embarrassment the entire time. It was all a little awkward as he continued to gyrate his hips near her face.

Connie looked at her watch again and nodded at Lula, who caught the attention of Cindy and Adria.

Connie downed the last of her drink and took a deep breath. "Hey, Val," she belted out loudly. "Damn, he's almost as big as Albert." Connie pointed at the generous package on Mr. Construction Worker.

Val stood up and swung herself around to face Connie, who was still standing on the table. "And just how the hell do you know how big Albert is?" she demanded with her hands on her hips.

Connie froze like a deer in headlights and stumbled over her response. "I…I..I'm just sayin'…"

Lula bolted out of her chair and joined Val in her tirade. "You messed with her man…didn't you?"

Val turned to Lula, eyes popped wide in shock. "She what? She…and Albert?

They both turned back to look at Connie.

"Val, your maid of honor…your best friend, messed around with your fiancée. How could you do that to your best friend, Constance? How could you?" Lula screamed.

Connie found her voice. "Oh come on, Val, it was just a couple of times, when you went on that trip with your sister last year. Albert got so lonely."

Val picked up a drink from the table and threw it at Connie. "You, Bitch!" she screamed. "How could you?"

On the opposite side of the table, Cindy dodged the flying liquid. "Really, Val, like you didn't know!" she snorted. "He's screwed half the women in his office already and is working his way through the other half, probably as we speak! I should know. I _do _work there."

"Oh, yeah, Sandy?" Val shouted. "And just which half are you in?"

Cindy didn't answer but looked guilty as hell. Val shoved her chair out of the way and dove over the table toward Cindy. She grabbed her by the front of her dress and started pulling her back across the table. The sudden shifting of the table caused Connie to lose her footing and she plummeted off the table and into the arms of Mr. Cowboy, who hopped off the chair and quickly righted her back on her feet, then continued dancing.

Lula didn't wait. She grabbed a pitcher of beer off the table next to theirs and dumped it over Connie's head. "Girl, you are a slut. You just couldn't leave her man alone. Is there any man in Ohio that you haven't screwed?"

The waitress and a bartender came over to break up the fight. Someone at RangeMan must have given special instructions to the male dancers, because Mr. Cowboy grabbed the waitress and tried to incorporate her into his dance routine. The music was still blasting and the two dancers were intent on finishing their job regardless of the conditions in the room. The bartender quickly backed off when Lula started squirting him with cherry flavored sex oil. He decided his efforts would be best put to use by picking up broken glass and sopping up as much beer off the floor as possible.

Val and Cindy continued to struggle over the top of the table. Adria was trying to pull Cindy back and grabbed her by the hips for leverage. Val suddenly let go and Cindy and Adria went flying into the table behind them, causing their drinks to spill and the table to tip.

A second waitress hurried to return the table to its place and profusely apologized to the customers who were disrupted, offering to bring them new drinks.

Cindy stabilized her footing and charged back to the party table. She picked up a bowl of Buffalo Ranch sauce and dumped it over Val's head, as she remained prostrate over the table.

Staff came from all over the bar to attend to the commotion. Some patrons gathered their things and made a quick exit not wanting to be caught up in the mess. No one noticed that Jake Murdock, who had been surreptitiously sitting in the bar the entire time, slipped out with the crowd.

Some of the bar patrons who had decided to stay, the more inebriated ones, began to cheer. "Chick fight, chick fight, chick fight." One of the guys that had bought them drinks earlier in the evening handed Connie a pitcher of beer and goaded her to retaliate by pouring it over Lula.

"Take that, you hypocrite," Connie yelled as she dumped the beer over Lula's head. "You have no room to talk. You wiggled your fat ass for Bobby when he came sniffin' after you!"

Adria heard that and marched back over to Lula. "Oh. No. You. Did. Not!" she growled. "Bobby would never cheat on me."

"Oh, yeah?" Lula huffed. "If you're so sure, why don't you just ask your man if he didn't prefer a little cushin' with his pushin' then?" She stood up straight and ran her hands over her own hips and purred, "I made that man happy! You skinny assed white girls don't know what a brother needs or wants in a woman." She picked up the box with the sex products and pulled out one of the packages and shook it at Adria. "Your man don't need no Rock Hard when he's with me. I can get him there and keep him there all night without any help from a tube."

Adria screamed, "You whore!" She took both her hands and pushed Lula hard. Lula stumbled backwards and landed up against the bar, pushing the CD player off the bar top and into the small water-filled sink behind it. Sparks flew from the player, and an electric buzzing sound replaced the Latin beat, that until now had continued to play providing the male dancers with a reason to carry on with their performance. Smoke rose and the first flames began to lick their way around the plastic case.

At 10:45 on the dot, the first signs of bedlam reached the ears of every RangeMan in the parking lot. The back up teams sat in non-traditional RangeMan vehicles in order to keep a low profile. Their job was to extract the women in an emergency. Two teams were set and ready to enter the building. Each team had its own designated areas to search once inside. If Stephanie or Jake Murdock weren't inside, they were to look for clues as to their possible whereabouts. Max, Junior, Woody and Ranger held their positions just outside the back entrance and were simply waiting for the go word from Lester.

The girls had worked their magic quickly. Connie took a second to take in the complete chaos surrounding her. The employees frantically trying to clean up and restore order and the customers had turned the event into a free for all. She gave Lester the code phrase they had agreed she would use to let him know when the mayhem seemed to be at its peak.

"It's Plum Crazy in here!" she shouted.

Lester gave the go and the RangeMen entered the building. Ranger and Woody took the upstairs and Max and Junior headed to the basement. They could hear the commotion in the main part of the bar, assuring them that the staff were being kept busy. They entered each room hoping to find Stephanie. When they found a room to be empty, they scoured it looking for clues and then would go on to the next room. In less than eight minutes, they had completed their search and returned to the parking lot, disappointment clearly written on their faces.

Lester sent a coded text to all the women informing them that the search team had completed its mission and they should make their exit as well.

When the CD player had caught fire, one of the more level-headed, experienced bartenders quickly unplugged the unit and squirted it with seltzer water, thus avoiding a major fire disaster and the panic that would have ensued.

The ladies continued to keep up the commotion, becoming quite creative in their attempts to be as outlandish as possible in their accusations towards each other and eventually other customers. Food was thrown, drinks were thrown, insults were thrown, sex lubricants were thrown, and by the time Lester sent the text, the brawl had become so intense it was a miracle that at least one of them even noticed it.

Adria had set her phone to vibrate and had placed it in one of the tight pockets of her slacks. When the text message came through she jumped slightly as if a roving hand had goosed her. She quickly realized what it was and pulled the phone from her pocket. Once she had the message, she caught the attention of Cindy and Val. The three of them literally had to peel Lula off another customer with whom she had picked a fight by insulting her shoes. They dragged her past Connie who took out the rest of the money she had been given and handed it to the bartender, with her apologies about the disruption.

The five of them, dripping, sticky and smelly, walked out the front door and into the waiting limousine.

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	20. Chapter 20

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's Note: I know it's been hit or miss the last several days signing in to the fanfiction website. I have only been able to respond to some of my reviews from the last chapter. I will get to the rest this morning if the virtual world is cooperating with my schedule. If you haven't heard from me...it's coming. I always respond the readers who take the time to let me know what they think. Heck at this point you can even let off a little steam in your review about your frustrations and your fanfiction withdrawals. I know I had the shakes a couple of times this weekend!

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

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Chapter 20

When the RangeWomen were safely ensconced in the limo, Adria, Cindy, Lula, and Connie pulled out their cell phones and quickly texted their men. In short order they each received a reply telling them the disappointing news.

Val took in their slumped shoulders and bowed heads. She didn't have to ask. "She wasn't there." Her voice quivered and she turned her head toward the window. "What's next?"

Connie's cell rang and she answered, anxious to be comforted by the voice on the other end. "Hey." There was a pause. "We're all fine, a little dirty and wet, but…" Connie listened for several long seconds. "Okay, sweetie, be safe. Love you too."

"What did he say?" Val asked.

"We're going back to the hotel. Emily too. Junior and Hal are going to stay with us and the rest of the guys are headed to RangeMan downtown. They're moving onto the next target.

Lula spoke up. "Where's that?"

Connie shrugged her shoulders. "He didn't' say. He just said that we were to stay at the hotel try to get some sleep and they would keep us updated."

"Sleep!" Lula exclaimed. "I can't get no sleep. Not when our girl is still out there somewhere."

There was a rumbling of agreement among the group.

"Tell you what then." Connie took charge in a big sister kind of way. "I know I feel like I've been rolling in garbage. Why don't we all go to our rooms, get showered, changed, and meet up in my room? We'll order some food, watch some TV, and wait…together." She looked around the car at the long faces. "Come on girls, these guys are the best. They'll find her…" her voice drifted off. "They have to."

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After Colleen arrived with Stephanie's dinner, the two spent a few moments in stilted conversation that pointedly avoided the elephant in the room. Their exchange on the beach about Colleen's pregnancy and Stephanie's request for help in escaping was never referenced. It was obvious that Colleen wasn't comfortable with discussing either subject inside the house, and she left saying that it was late and Grayson was waiting for her in their room.

Stephanie picked at the salad and pulled out a few olives and all the croutons. She nibbled on them, thinking all the while that if she just had some peanut butter she could make tiny sandwiches with them. She left the rest of the salad untouched, but devoured the chocolate cake and tried to force the disturbing image of Colleen and Grayson in bed together, out of her mind.

When she was finished with her dessert, Stephanie carried the tray over to the small table and once more tried the French doors, shaking them roughly with the hope of dislodging the sliding bolt that ran vertically from the top of the door to the frame. It stubbornly held. She wasn't ready to give up, but had run out of ideas and was getting tired. Before she climbed back into the bed she grabbed one of the Jimmy Choo shoes from the floor of the closet and tucked it under her pillow.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Ranger and the rest of his team gathered around the conference table for the second time in less than twelve hours. There was a definite air of discouragement among the men after coming up empty handed at the Wild Horse Inn. It was now well after midnight, and the table was covered with maps, reports and coffee cups.

"We won't have access to the boat for surveillance until six am at the earliest." Nick rubbed his hands over the scruff of his face.

"We're not waiting for the boat." Ranger's voice was firm and staid. "We didn't find Murdock or Sandor at that bar. That means that it's possible that one or both of them are with Stephanie. I'm not waiting any longer. The beach house is our next best option. Morelli is going to notify the feds in less than twelve hours. I don't want the complication of their involvement yet."

There were nods and verbal sounds of agreement all around the table.

"We don't have time to be nice about this. If we go in, we go in with guns pointed at anything that moves, and we ask questions later. Nothing about this operation will be legal. We have no authority or lawful cause to take this kind of action on a private residence. If we go into that house and we're wrong…well, any man in this room that wants to sit this one out will not be censured. This is strictly a volunteer assignment."

Ranger looked around the table. The only thing he saw in each face was resolve. No one was backing out.

Tank had also taken the silence as confirmation that each man was agreeing to stay regardless of the possible personal legal ramifications, and he spoke for all of them when he asked, "What's the plan, Boss?"

Ranger made a quick nod indicating his appreciation of their loyalty and began to lay out his plan. There was a satellite map of the beach house property on the table. Ranger pointed to the entrance of the long driveway. He looked at Hector. "Puede anular la seguridad en la puerta y las alarmas de casa?" (Can you override the security on the gate and the house alarms?)

"Si, I know this system they use. Not as good as ours. Piece of cake."

Ranger did a mental double take at Hector's use of English, but then moved on. "Good. Once Hector opens the gate and neutralizes the alarms, I want four teams through the front gate. Nick, I need you to post two of your men at the gate once we're in. No one goes in or goes out unless I say so."

"Understand." Nick nodded.

"Team One, Cal and Woody, will circle to the west of the property and work their way to the back of the house. Team Two, Tony and Max, will start here, move to the east and secure these doors." Ranger pointed to the floor plans. "Teams Three and Four will enter through the front. Tank, you and Bobby take the main floor. Santos, you and I will take the second floor. Search every room.

"You got it, boss." Lester nodded at his instructions.

Ranger turned back to Hector. "Héctor, teniendo en cuenta la hora tardía y el hecho de que todas las habitaciones están en el segundo piso, te quiero con el Santos y yo en el Equipo Cuatro. (Hector, considering the late hour and the fact that all the bedrooms are on the second floor, I want you with Santos and me on Team Four.)"

"Si."

Ranger gave his final directive to the group of men assembled. "We detain anyone we find. Use force if necessary. If Stephanie's not there, we'll start asking questions and demanding answers. We'll deal with the consequences later."

"You don't need me on this?" Nick questioned.

"I need you here, Nick. If we're wrong and we all end up in jail, I'm going to need someone to keep up the search until we make bail."

Nick threw his pen down on the table. "You mean, _if_ you make bail. "Damn, Ranger, this isn't simple breaking and entering. Christ, with the heat you plan on packing in with you, this is more along the lines of invading a third world country!"

Ranger nodded and replied in an even, sure voice, "it's how it needs to be done. With Sandor's skills, we can't afford to give him a heads up that we're coming in. It's imperative that we surprise him."

Tony, who had been quiet up until now, spoke up. "Ranger is right, boss. I know Marcus. He has a lot of specialized training, and he's already been able to ditch our surveillance. Right now he doesn't know that we're here looking for Bomber. He still believes we think she's dead. If we play by the rules and tip our hand and he gets away, we may never find him again. And if he takes Bomber with him…."

Nick nodded at Tony's assessment.

Ranger looked at his watch. "It'll take another half hour to get the equipment and gear together. It's zero one hundred hours now. We leave the garage at zero one thirty. It's going to take roughly forty-five minutes to get there from here. Upon arrival I want a complete inspection of the surrounding area and I want it secured. We need to be inside that house by zero three hundred hours. Any questions?"

Ranger looked around the table. No one had questions.

"Dismissed."

The men stood and filed out of the conference room. They each knew what was required of them. They each knew what was on the line.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

She felt better than she had in days. She was warm and comfortable and the soft stroking on her arm was generating familiar feelings in her deepest places. The touch was tender and possessive and made all her worries disappear. She was safe. It was just the two of them, and no one could separate them again. Her joy and contentment was so utterly complete that she was afraid to speak…afraid to break the spell that she was sure she was under. The one that allowed her to believe that this perfect man was hers. That his touch only soothed_ her_ pains. That his lips only touched _her_ mouth. That his heart only sought_ her_ love. When his hand lifted to her face and caressed her cheek, she reached up to cradle it, and she finally spoke.

"I didn't think you'd ever come." Her words felt heavy coming from her lips as if she was pushing them through water.

"If I'd known how you felt, Sweet Cheeks, I would have been here sooner."

Stephanie's eyes shot open as the voice pierced her dream and burst the bubble of her utopian reunion. Her first response was to recoil from the touch, but the hand tightened around her left wrist and the pain forced her to abruptly halt her retreat. She knew that voice, and it wasn't Ranger's. Her dream world and all of its warm, pleasant feelings dissolved as she was yanked from her stupor, and Jake Murdock's face materialized before her eyes, bringing with it an unsettling sense of panic and terror.

Stephanie's second response was to fight. She swung her free hand toward his face, but he blocked it with his hand. He now had both of her hands trapped above her head, and his face was fixed uncomfortably close to hers.

"What do you want?" She snapped at him.

"I'm staying in the next room tonight and I thought it would be neighborly to come over and say hello."

"I thought you had a room in town. Colleen told me you never stayed here." Stephanie expressed her repugnance through gritted teeth as she fought and failed to put some distance between them.

"That's not entirely true. This is my father's house. A good son should visit his father now and then. For my occasional visits, my father keeps that room next to yours just as I like it. It has everything I need…almost," he sneered, as he rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "It has a big bed. Bigger than this one, but it does get a bit…lonely."

His suggestive tone and repulsive leer were creating feelings deep inside Stephanie, but they were nothing like the ones in her dream about Ranger. She fought back the bile rising in her throat and forced herself to angle him with conversation.

"How did you get past the guard at the door?"

"I told you, I'm in the room next door." He looked to his left and Stephanie followed his gaze. One of the French doors stood slightly ajar. She mentally rolled her eyes at the irony.

"What do you want? You're not supposed to be in here?"

"There was a slight problem at my place in town. A bit of a commotion at the bar that was likely to draw the police. No one knows you're here, and I'm pretty sure I left no clues back in Trenton as to my connection with your 'tragic death', but I didn't want to risk it, so I melted into the crowd and caught a cab a few blocks from the bar. I came here to hang out for the rest of the night. Can't be too careful, you know."

"Why are you in _my_ room?"

Jake Murdock had the same annoying habit as his father. He ignored her direct questions and spoke to his own agenda. "You have the most incredible skin. Most women in Miami worship the sun and it darkens and toughens their skin. Yours is so pale, so soft." He roughly trapped both her wrists in his left hand and slowly dragged the fingers of his right down the exposed underside of her arm. "Almost translucent. I can see every one of your veins."

When he reached her underarm, Stephanie jerked at the light, tickling touch, but he wasn't deterred from his path. He continued down the side of her breast and settled his hand on her waist, allowing he tips of his fingers to ride under the hem of her shirt.

Stephanie thought about the shoe under her pillow, but the grip on her hands was too tight to break.

"Do you know how easy it is to manipulate women?" Jake's question was posed with no expected answer from Stephanie. He was merely setting up the rest of his monologue. "For instance, your friend the nurse…"

"Megan?" Stephanie's eyes, already focused on him, sharpened in surprise.

"Ahh, yes. Sweet, sexy Megan," he nodded. "She was so cooperative in giving me the information I needed to keep tabs on you. You see, it's simply a matter of finding the right motivation."

"Motivation?"

"At first she balked," he continued. "Something ludicrous about patient confidentiality, but it's amazing how quickly she turned her back on her precious ethics when faced with the right..._enticement_."

Images of Anna Burke's mutilated body lying on the bathroom floor flooded Stephanie's mind. Another victim of Jake Murdock's idea of motivation. "Did you...harm Megan?" she warily asked.

Jake shook his head in dismay. "She's foolishly noble. I even used my best knife and left her a little reminder of our time together, and she still wouldn't talk. But I needed her help, so she wasn't disposable. Fortunately I'd done my homework and was prepared." Jake was enjoying his own story and slightly relaxed his grip on Stephanie's wrists then leaned back a little. "Megan required more of a martyred approach. I threatened her family. Did you know she has two young nieces? They're beautiful little things, too; blond hair, blue eyes…just like their mother. When I showed Megan their pictures, it was like magic. She agreed to anything I asked."

"You're sick," Stephanie spit out in disgust.

"Of course, as time wore on she needed little reminders now and then to keep her on task."

Stephanie finally put two and two together. "The message was for Megan wasn't it. You used Anna Burke."

"Who the hell's Anna Burke?" He looked truly perplexed at Stephanie's disjointed rambling.

"The young girl you raped and murdered!" Stephanie exclaimed, annoyed at his clueless insensitivity. "You said that you raped and murdered the girl in the bathroom because you needed to leave a message for someone. The message was for Megan."

Jake smirked. "Oh, I never got the bitch's name. She was quite an effective tool though. I followed it up with some explicit details of how our little nurse's family could suffer a similar fate. I had you within days of that little warning to Megan. If I had known how quickly she would get creative and give you up after that, I would have done it sooner.

Stephanie ached at the knowledge that Megan was the one who had been forced to betray her. Some of the things Megan had said to her about their friendship and her worry about the loss of her relationship with Lester, all made sense now. Jake seemed to be in a sharing mood, and it was, for the most part, keeping his hands pretty neutral, so Stephanie made a decision to bury the pain and guilt about Megan for now and concentrate on pushing Jake further for information "What about Chelsea Grant? How did you convince her to get into a car that was going to explode?"

"Chelsea," he sighed as he spoke her name. "She was a totally different story. She was scared from the very beginning. It wasn't difficult keeping her in line." He rubbed his hand a little higher on Stephanie's stomach and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "She may have looked like you, but she didn't have your spunk, Sweet Cheeks." He sat back again and continued with his story. "How we got her was purely accidental. We were headed back up to Trenton with the van, and we stopped in Richmond for the night. We were coming out of a diner and there she was, coming across the parking lot. I was struck by how much she looked like you and my mind started making plans immediately. After we picked her up I had a little fun with her for a couple of days until we needed her. Last Wednesday at the mall, I had her tied up in one of the back rooms in the store. I knew you'd have to go by there to get to your car, so when I grabbed you, I ordered her to switch your clothes with hers, even your jewelry and shoes. I gave her your purse and told her I was done with her and that she was free to go, because I had you now. I gave her the keys to your car and told her she could go anywhere she wanted."

"But you had put a bomb of some sort in my car. She never had a chance."

"The device was in your purse. She was clueless. I couldn't just let her go, she knew my face." He tightened his grip on her wrists as he leaned over Stephanie's face and ran his tongue across her lips. Stephanie turned her head in disgust. "We'd been quite close, Chelsea and me," he vulgarly implied against her lips. "She could have identified me by more than just my face, Sweet Cheeks."

Stephanie wanted to vomit. She felt dirty and violated again.

Jake didn't take his actions any further and pulled back to finish his story. "It was pure luck that Manoso was pulling into the parking lot at the exact moment the car exploded. He saw you get into the car so they didn't need to identify the body." Jake looked pretty pleased with himself.

"Why did you do this? Why did you hurt so many women to get to me?"

"My father wanted you here. We needed you to help Marcus. It's important to help Marcus. It's always about Marcus."

It wasn't hard to miss the jealousy in his voice or the antipathy in his eyes. There was definitely a rivalry for Grayson's attention…at least on Jake's part. The self-reminder seemed to change his demeanor. His eyes grew dark and his lips tight. Almost instantly Jake's hand pulled away from her stomach and he pulled a knife from his pocket. Stephanie's gut wrenched at the notion that it was probably the same one that he had used to kill Anna Burke. He placed the point of the blade against her throat and drew it lightly down the center of her chest. The sharp tip caught at the neck of her shirt and pulled it down as it progressed. He stopped when he reached the point between her breasts and applied some pressure, drawing blood.

Stephanie gasped.

"It would be so easy to make you do what I want. Women are afraid of knives. They beg. They'll do anything to avoid being hurt."

She looked straight into his eyes. "I'll scream."

"I'll stop you." His threat was harsh.

"Forbes is just outside the door," she reminded him.

"It doesn't matter," he said seriously.

Stephanie believed him. She could feel the sting of the open wound on her chest. She fought to keep her voice steady. To show fear now would only encourage him. She had an idea and she went with it. In her best imitation of her own mother's voice, she sternly said, "Your father would be angry, disappointed even, that you didn't follow his orders. He said you were to leave me alone." This was how she had heard Colleen speak with him when he had come into the bedroom to remove the cast. Colleen had been firm and sure of herself. She had carried an air of authority over him and he responded.

Jake lifted the knife from her skin. Stephanie could tell he was at war with himself. He wanted to obey his father but she could see in his eyes that there was a fire running through him…burning…making it hard.

She continued, "Grayson trusts you. He told me you were a good son. He was so proud of the way you brought me here. You don't want to fail him now, do you Jake?"

"No." And with that simple, one syllable word, Jake put the knife back in his pocket and released her hands. He stood up from the bed and walked back out through the French doors, sliding the deadbolt back into place.

Stephanie sat up on the bed with her mouth hanging open. She was completely astounded by his reaction to her words. She had a whole new appreciation for Jack Winchester and his psychological drilling.

When the shock of the bizarre episode wore off, Stephanie went to the bathroom, cleansed the wound and staved the slight amount of bleeding that remained. She returned to the bedroom and immediately went into the closet to change her shirt. Before she walked out, she pick up the other Jimmy Choo shoe. This time when she settled into bed, she held one sharp stiletto heel in each hand.

It took Stephanie a while to relax. She spent a long time in thought about the incident with Jake and the revelation about Megan. She wondered if it had come to light in Trenton and if Lester and Megan had survived it. She knew how protective the men at RangeMan were when it came to her safety and well-being. And woman or not, It was all about honor with those men, and Stephanie was sure that at least some of them would not have taken it well if they had found out that Megan had been forced into betraying a friend.

When the thoughts of Megan had run their course, she turned her musings to Colleen. It was obvious that she hadn't been giving Colleen enough credit. In spite of her unfortunate violent encounter with Marcus, Colleen had figured out how to survive in this household. She had successfully removed herself from a bad situation in her own childhood home and had found some semblance of a life here among Grayson and his twisted family. It occurred to Stephanie that Colleen had no idea what normal was. She had no idea that a she could live a life beyond this freak show. She didn't know that she didn't have to live at the mercy and whim of dominating males. As she drifted off to sleep, Stephanie resolved that if she ever got out of here, she would do something for Colleen.

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	21. Chapter 21

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's Note: Since the traffic-o-meter has been down for three days I can't tell how well the last chapter was received. Hopefully the lack of reviews for the last two chapters has been because of the fanfic website technical problems and not because the story has become disappointing to the readers.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

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Chapter 21

The RangeMen were quiet and focused as they loaded the vehicles with the equipment they needed for the operation they were about to undertake. Hector was standing next to the van giving last minute instructions to the Miami RangeMen who would be monitoring communications. Bobby was assessing the medical equipment and adding items he thought they might need. The beach house was quite a distance from any public or private medical facilities. He could be required to treat anything from contusions to gunshot wounds for the men, but they could find Stephanie drugged, dehydrated, beaten, injured or worse, and as medic, he wanted to be prepared for anything. He was glad that Jack would be coming along. Another medical opinion would be welcomed He liked working with Jack because he understood the concept of the military type operation they were planning.

Nick stepped out of the elevator carrying a duffle bag of supplies Bobby had requested.

"Thanks, Nick," Bobby said. "This should just about do it."

"Looks like the rest of the team is almost ready, too." Jack caught Bobby's attention and nodded toward Hector. "I met Hector for the first time when he came down with you to help with getting Sandor arrested a few months back. I thought he was kind of intense then, but I gotta' tell you, right now he looks wound tighter than a bobcat ready to pounce on its first meal in a week."

Bobby produced a gentle smile. "Yeah, he and Steph have a special relationship. He's very protective of her…we all are…but with Hector it's different. When we didn't find her at the Wild Horse tonight…well, you could say he didn't take it well."

"Didn't take it well?" Nick repeated sarcastically. I'd rather poke a stick in a beehive than stand within six feet of that boy. Is he even safe?"

Bobby knew what Nick was implying. It was important that each team member be focused and at the top of his game. It could make the difference between a successful, safe mission and a failed one riddled with injuries. "Hector isn't military, so he doesn't have the discipline and training that most of us do. He gained his professional skills in a less traditional way, but he's very good at what he does for us. Ranger only hires the best, Nick, you know that." Bobby closed the back gate on the SUV and leaned against it. "Don't worry, both Ranger and Lester are able to keep him steady when necessary, and Jack will be with us too."

"Jack?"

"Yeah Jack," Bobby nodded. "He can work miracles with Hector. Between the three of them, Hector will be just fine."

The door to the stairs opened and Ranger came through, followed by Jack and Lester. They were already suited up and, like the rest of the team already assembled, Ranger and Lester were both carrying multiple weapons in various places on their bodies.

Ranger shook Nick's hand. "You'll have ears?"

"I'll be in the control room. If you need anything, just talk. I'll be listening. Good luck, Carlos." Nick's firm grip reflected his sincerity. He turned from Ranger and shook the hands of the other team members then headed over to his own men to give them last minute instructions.

"Let's do this," Ranger said with determination. They all nodded and headed for their vehicles.

As the last tail light disappeared from the garage, Nick Hodge stood for a moment in the now vacant garage, shaking his head in wonder. Two years prior, when he first started hearing the reports of the curly headed bounty hunter and her incredible adventures, little did he know just how important her safety would become to an entire company of emotionally constipated men.

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Even with fear holding court in the recesses of her thoughts, Stephanie somehow managed to return to the slumber Jake had oddly interrupted. Her dreams this time were not as peaceful and secure. A hodgepodge of images swirled about her unconscious mind. She was present at events that didn't make sense. She spoke with people, some of them familiar, some of them not, who did unpredictable things and whose objectives weren't clear. The nightmares manifested themselves in a display of physical agitation, and she awoke to find herself caught up in the twisted sheets. It took a good fifteen seconds to untangle her limbs and when she was finally free, she got up and stumbled into the bathroom to get a drink and run some cool water over her face. She closely examined her features in the mirror. Her eyes were dark underneath, puffy and ringed from her lack of sleep and the stress of her captivity. Jake's comment about her fair skin was right on the money. Despite her lengthy reprieve in the sun earlier with Colleen, her color remained mystifyingly pale except for the slight red glow coming from the sunburn on the end of her nose. She opened the door and flipped off the light, resigned to another attempt at sleep. Not having a clock in the room continued to be a source of frustration. She had no idea how late it was ot how long it would be before the sun rose, signaling the beginning of her sixth day in captivity and her third day in this house.

It was dark in the bedroom. Stephanie reasoned that there was either no moon or it was extremely overcast. A bright flash of lightning illuminated the distant sky and the debate was settled. She paused for a moment. It was several seconds before the thunder rumbled and she was immediately transported back in time to her Grandma and Grandpa Mazur's house in the Burg.

_Her parents had gone out of town for a weekend trip to New York, and she and Val were sleeping in the double bed of their grandparent's guest room. She couldn't have been more than six years old and Val must have been eight. A terrible thunderstorm moved in right after her Grandma Mazur had tucked them both into bed. A few minutes later, Grandpa Mazur poked his head into the room and asked if the girls were doing okay or if the storm was bothering them. Stephanie had her face plastered to the window excited by the lightning show. Val was way under the covers trying desperately to block out the storm. Grandpa Mazur sat down on the bed and pulled the covers back from Val's face._

_He spoke gently in his unmistakable deep voice, "did you know that if you count the seconds between the lightning flash and the first rumble of the thunder you can tell how far away the storm is?"_

_Val shook her head slowly back and forth._

_Just seconds later another flash lit up the room and Stephanie whispered her count. "1...2…3…4…5...6...7…8…9...10...11…" Rolling thunder sounded in the distance and she looked back toward the bed. "How far away is it, Grandpa?"_

"_Well," he said sagely. "Every time you count to five, that's a mile away. You counted to eleven, so I'd say that storm is just over two miles from here."_

_Stephanie didn't have much of a concept of distance and he read the confusion on her face. _

"_Two miles is further away than the river. So that storm could be in Pennsylvania somewhere."_

The memory of her Grandpa's lesson warmed her and she took a few steps toward the bed.

Stephanie felt his presence before she saw him. It was not the tingle she felt when Ranger was near. It was a tightness in her throat and chest that warned her of impending danger. She froze mid-step and turned her attention to a corner of the room near the door to the hall. The shadowy figure slid away from the wall and in three short steps was close enough for Stephanie to make out the face of Marcus Sandor.

Stephanie was so paralyzed with fear that she couldn't form the words her mind was screaming at her to project. For what seemed like minutes, but was probably only a matter of four or five wildly, pounding heartbeats, they stared at each other. Stephanie was acutely aware that every fiber of her being was saturated with terror, and there was no stopping it from being reflected on her face. The look on Marcus Sandor's face was pure hatred. He took in her appearance from waist to eyes, and there was none of the lust or appreciation she had seen in his cousin's earlier visit. Marcus' gaze oozed a frightful mix of disgust and anger.

"Stephanie Plum," he drew out slowly. "I've been waiting to see you." For all the potential violence he was exuding physically, his voice was surprisingly smooth and deceptively low key.

Stephanie decided to try the same technique that had worked with Jake. "How did you get in here?" At her own words, she broke their visual connection and risked a glance at the French doors. They weren't open, but she couldn't tell from where she was standing if the sliding bolt had been released. In a bizarre response she could only attribute to her mind's attempt to avoid dealing with the current situation, she felt a brief moment of annoyance that this house with all its locks and security was no better than her apartment. The revolving door of crazies and stalkers found no resistance to acting on their perverted whims here. Self-preservation took over and she tucked that feeling away with her second mental eye-roll of the night.

"I came through this door." Marcus indicated the one that lead to the hallway.

Nervousness seeped through Stephanie's words. "Forbes shouldn't have let you pass. Grayson said I'd be safe here."

Marcus relaxed his tense stance, took two steps toward the door, grabbed the doorknob and twisted it slowly. There was some light in the hall, and when he pulled the door opened just a foot or so, Stephanie could see the slumped figure of her guard on the floor. Marcus closed the door again and casually leaned up against the frame.

"I brought Daniel a drink. He'll have one hell of a headache in the morning and he'll be mad as hell, but he won't be disturbing us anytime soon. I didn't do any permanent damage. He and his twin brother Denny have worked for my uncle for years."

Stephanie was positive she knew the answers already, but she had this list of questions that she automatically fell back on when confronted face to face with one of her stalkers, and she couldn't help but blurt them out. It always seemed like a good stall tactic to give her time to think of ways to escape the situation.

"What do you want?"

"I think that's pretty obvious. We went to a lot of trouble to get you here."

"Grayson told me he plans to use me to make a deal with Ranger."

"Yeah, good old Uncle Grayson always has a plan." Marcus' tone of annoyance and disrespect was not what Stephanie expected. "He sent me away, like an insolent child, being sent to his room. He thought it would be best to put some distance between me and you until things were settled. He'd be surprised and upset to see me here right now." He let out a small laugh. "That's one thing the old man may have been right about. He knew I'd have trouble keeping my hands off you."

It was Stephanie's turn to ignore words and implications. She kept the conversation going. "He's bailed you out of trouble before." She took a small, hopefully unobtrusive, step toward the bed, knowing her only available weapon was lying under the sheets.

Marcus didn't seem to notice her movement, or if he did, it didn't concern him. "He's bailed me out plenty," he smiled. "I was hell on wheels. Still am, I guess."

"You need me to get the deal." She took another small step or two. "Ranger's men listen to him, you know that. If he wants those charges dropped, Tony will make sure it happens. He'll follow orders."

"I'm not an idiot! I know what goes on at RangeMan." Marcus' response was sharp. "My uncle's a fool if he thinks he'll get his way. I know better. RangeMan doesn't negotiate."

"Then why am I here?" Stephanie was just a couple of feet from the bed now.

"That depends on who you ask," he replied casually. "My uncle may have his plans for you, but I have a few plans of my own." His body language and his tone altered with his last statement. His eyes skimmed down and back up her body.

Stephanie suddenly felt naked before him; even though she was modestly covered in the t-shirt and stretch Capri pants she had fallen asleep wearing. The shift in his intensity was palpable. The room was dark, but the storm was picking up, and the increased frequency of the lightning strikes filled the room with flashes of revealing light.

"I don't think your uncle would approve of your plans." Stephanie was striving for control of the situation, but the authority with which she had used these words with Jake was absent. Her remark was weak and held no power.

Stephanie diverted her concentration from Marcus to the bed, estimating her chances of getting to one of the two shoes still lying at the ready for her call to arms. She once again returned her focus to the man against the door, and as if by magic, he had shortened his distance from her between lightning strikes. His intent was perfectly clear and Stephanie had no more time to plan. She took a flying leap and landed on the bed hoping to grab a shoe and roll to the other side in order to put space and an obstacle between them. As she frantically rooted through the bed sheets she felt a tug at her leg. She was ruthlessly yanked and spun to her back, and Marcus Sandor came down on her, pinning her to the bed with the hefty weight of his body.

"That's the problem with you women. You think too much. It doesn't matter what you think, or what Emily Barnes thought, or any of a dozen other cunts_. I'm_ the one doing the thinking here. _I'm_ the one making the decisions!"

His face was inches from hers, but he was loud and angry. His hot breath covered her face and she was consumed with suffocating fear. Marcus moved his hand under her shirt and roughly seized one of her breasts. Pain shot through Stephanie's chest and she released a agonized yelp.

"How does it feel, bitch?" he spit out. "How does it feel to know there's no one coming for you? No one is backing you up this time, are they?"

When Stephanie didn't answer, he shook her callously and repeated adamantly, "are they?"

"No," she whimpered. Tears were welling at the edge of Stephanie's lids and she fought to restrain them.

"Damn straight, they're not. Your precious RangeMen don't even know you're alive." His taunting of the truth tore a hole in Stephanie's heart. "And what about Ranger, the Great Carlos Manoso? Hmmm, bitch? Where is he now?"

He released her left breast and switched to the right one, forcing the tears she had been bravely holding back to spill with a grunt.

"I'll tell you where he is. He's already found another cunt to slide into at night. Men like us can't go for long without a woman warming the bed. We're a lot a like, Ranger and me. We both like to be in control. We both have the best military training. He should never have let me go, Stephanie. I was damn good at my job."

Despite the tears and the pain, Stephanie was angry enough to spit out through gritted teeth, "you're nothing like him, you sick son-of-a-bitch."

Marcus laid an arm across her chest, tightly pinning her arms to her side and slid the other down to the waistband of her pants. He took a firm grip of the elastic and started to work them down. "I'll show you what I'm like. You bitches are all alike. You think you can lead a man around by his dick and get what you want." He grasped both her hands in one of his and forced them over her head. The action brought his face back to within inches of hers and he brutally attacked her mouth, biting at her lips and forcing his tongue into her mouth.

Stephanie gagged at the vulgar intrusion. Her only option was to twist her head to one side, forcing his mouth off of hers and closer to her ear. He nipped at her ear, sat up and slapped her across the face. She gasped at the sharp, stinging pain.

"You're a god damned bastard!" Stephanie fiercely spit in his face.

"Fucking bitch, shut your damn mouth." he growled, as he put a hand over her face. "If you fight me, a slap on the face will be the least of your pain. Just like that little cock tease Emily. She fought me, and she paid for it."

Stephanie struggled violently against his control, panicked that she could no longer breathe. Her movements forced his hand to shift from her face and she took a deep gulp of air.

Marcus responded by tightening his grip over her head and forcing her legs apart with his free hand. He clutched her crotch and aggressively pushed against it with a bruising force. "You have to stop fighting me, because this _will_ be mine one way or another. You should take a lesson from Colleen. Now there's a girl smart enough to know when a man's in charge and gives him what he wants…without resistance." As he spoke, Marcus continued to pull Stephanie's pants down the rest of the way, overpowering her continued attempts to deny him. When only her panties were left, he paused to catch his breath, running his fingers over the lacy edge of the waistband. He gripped it tightly in a fist and ripped them off completely. He immediately began fumbling with his belt and resumed his lecture. "Yes, ma'am, my uncle has a fine piece of ass in that Colleen. She was warm and wet. So delicate, too. It wouldn't have taken much to hurt her, but I had to be careful with that one. She's practically family."

Marcus had succeeded in removing enough of his cock from his pants to position himself poised and ready between her legs. Tears were streaming from Stephanie's eyes, but she still wasn't giving up the fight. She writhed and jerked and thrashed her body to prevent him from violating her. With every movement his grip became tighter, and his eyes grew darker and crazed filled.

"You know what the best thing about Colleen is?" he asked. "The best thing about sweet Colleen is that she never said a word to my uncle…and neither will you, Stephanie Plum…if you know what's good for you."

His salacious grin was a portent of his next move, and Stephanie realized the fight was lost. She wasn't going to get away. She closed her eyes and tried to take herself away; to ignore the inevitable and find a path that would remove her awareness of the horrible act. He may take her body, but, by god, she wasn't going to give him her soul. That belonged to Ranger.

"MARCUS!" The deep booming voice coming from the end of the bed put a stop to his lecherous intentions. Marcus turned to look over his shoulder allowing Stephanie a view of a fury-filled Grayson Murdock, his body rigid in anger in response to the admission that had just spilled from Marcus' mouth. "What the hell were you thinking? How could you touch Colleen? She's mine, you bastard. I'll kill you for what you've done."

Grayson reached for Marcus and grabbed him by the shoulder. He cocked back his right arm and folded his hand into a fist in preparation of throwing a punch to his nephew's face.

Marcus was quick. He swung off the bed, dodging the failed attack and swiftly sprung to his feet. He lunged toward Grayson and put both hands around his neck. Grayson did the same with his hands, and the two men became embroiled in a violent battle. Angry, bitter words rolled from Marcus' tongue. Words that indicated a deep seeded hatred for his uncle had been brewing inside him for a long time.

Grayson's anguished face reflected his bewilderment at his nephew's betrayal, but he fought Marcus rigorously.

Marcus ruthlessly battered Grayson until he gained the advantage and backed his uncle up against the wall. There was unchecked loathing in his eyes as he began choking the life out of the man who had raised him from a child.

Grayson was in prime physical condition for a man of sixty-eight, but he was no match for the brute strength of his military trained nephew. Marcus continued to squeeze until there was no fight left in Grayson and his body ceased its struggle.

During the fight, Stephanie had frantically searched for her pants. She had found them balled up in the sheets, and she had clumsily put them back on. She finished just in time to look up and see Marcus, breathing heavily, step back and coldly allow his uncle's body to drop to the floor.

A grief-stricken cry made Stephanie look to the door. There stood Colleen. She was holding a gun she had pulled from Forbes' unconscious body. Distraught at the sight of her lover's fate, she lifted the gun in a trance-like motion, and without a second's delay, she pointed it at Marcus and pulled the trigger three times.

After all the commotion of the fight and the deafening noise of the discharging weapon, the room became unearthly quiet. Colleen didn't move or speak and neither did Stephanie. They remained frozen, staring at each other for several moments.

The French doors suddenly swung open and Jake Murdock burst into the room. He took in the sight of the bodies of his father and cousin lying on the floor, and he saw Colleen still standing in the doorway, the gun held at her side. He stormed across the room screaming at her, "what have you done, you bitch?" He harshly backhanded the stunned Colleen. The force of his strike caused her to drop the gun and stumble backward into the hall, tripping over the limp body of Daniel Forbes. Unable to catch herself, she screamed as she tumbled down the grand staircase and out of sight.

"COLLEEN!" Stephanie screamed as she witnessed the young girl disappear down the stairs. She made a move to follow Colleen.

Jake turned on Stephanie. "I have to get out of here! You're coming with me." He made a grab for her, but Stephanie was quicker and pulled away. The act gave her just enough time to reach for one of the elusive Jimmy Choo shoes before Jake's second attempt succeeded in clutching her by the left arm. He pulled her off the bed and headed toward the French doors.

The last thing Stephanie saw before she was dragged from the room...was Colleen...weakly crawling on all fours toward Grayson's lifeless body, tears streaming from her eyes and sobs of sorrow heaving from her chest.

Jake had a tight hold on her left wrist and the pain she still felt from her prior injury prevented her from fighting his demands. He dragged her across the deck and down the stairs at the far end. The threatening rain had started to fall, and Stephanie slipped a number of times during their descent. When they reached the bottom Stephanie was able to gather enough balance and force to swing the shoe heel first into the side of Jake's neck from behind. He released her grip and fell to the ground gripping the shoe still implanted in his neck. She turned to run but he managed to grab her foot, and she was pulled to the ground so quickly she barely had time to catch herself with her hands. Instantly Jake was on his feet, and he came over her prone body. He reached down to grab her arms and secure them behind her back.

The threatening movement triggered the response that Lester had drilled into her that day on the mats. Over and over again he had made her practice the reaction that would give her the greatest chance of preventing capture from this position. Her freshly trained instincts kicked in, and she thrust her right elbow ferociously back into Jakes gut. It was enough to make him stop his advance and grab his stomach in a protective clutch. Stephanie immediately rolled herself over and planted her right foot firmly into his groin. Jake fell back onto the patio completely debilitated from the painful kick.

Stephanie gave only a brief glance at the man lying in agony as she skittered to her feet and turned toward the ocean.

She was free and she didn't look back. She ran across the back yard to the steps leading to the beach. Lightning still flashed giving her an occasional glimpse of her bearings, but when she reached the first step she counted out each one as she descended. Right on schedule she felt the soft sand under her foot as she mentally ticked off step number twenty-three. She ran toward the water and only then ventured a look behind to see if Jake was following. There was no sign of him but she did see her footprints in the sand giving away her escape route. She ran a few steps in the other direction and then moved closer to the water. With each receding wave her footsteps vanished so she returned to her first route and headed for that house down the beach.

Rain pelted Stephanie as she ran along the shore. She ran as fast as she could in the sinking sand, but soon tired and had to slow to an easier pace half way to her destination. She quickly realized she had miscalculated the distance to the house. What she had originally thought was only a quarter of a mile felt more like half of one. The fact that she was tired, hurting, and panicked may have had an impact on her perception, but nonetheless, when she finally reached the beach directly behind the neighboring house, she dropped to her knees for a quick breather. As the waves smoothly wrapped around her body, she wanted nothing more at that moment than to let them embrace her and drag her out to sea to experience the comforting rocking motion it would supply.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, then she stood. This house sat lower than Grayson's, and there were only a few steps she had to negotiate in order to reach the level of the back yard. She followed a stone path through a pristinely landscaped lawn, and it led her to massive stone patio off the back of the house. She fell against the door and pounded repeatedly. No one answered. She tried again, but the result was the same. The house remained dark and the door unopened.

In her exhaustion, Stephanie collapsed on the back step and leaned her face against the cool partitioned glass. She closed her eyes and tried to come up with another plan. The rain was falling harder now, and she was soaked to the bone with a combination of both sea and fresh water. The wind had also picked up and the stiff breezes coming from the ocean gave her goose bumps. She started to shiver. She realized she needed to find shelter and rest before she could go on any further. She opened her eyes and grabbed the door, lifting herself along the glass as she rose. Half way to a standing position she saw a decal displayed to deter intruders. She ran her fingers along the words on the black and gold oval sticker.

'This home protected by RangeMan Security L.L.C.'

Charged from a renewed source of energy and a fresh plan, Stephanie finished standing and looked across the patio. With the assistance of the now almost constant flashes of light from the angry sky, she was able to spot a decorative fountain edged with large granite landscaping stones. She made her way to the fountain and loosened one of the stones from the border.

When she had spent those many hours with Hector on her breaking and entering skills, she had asked a hundred questions about the various gadgets and wires that were stored all over his crowded workspace. He had been just as patient with her questions as he had been with her trials with the locks, and he placidly explained the uses of each one. She knew from his detailed explanations that, while some homes in lower income areas only wired certain windows that were susceptible to break-ins, wealthier clients often chose to wire them all.

Stephanie clutched the heavy stone to her stomach with both hands and carried it back to the house. She flung the stone through the closest window and prayed that these people were fucking millionaires.

The glass shattered. She didn't hear an alarm but RangeMan often used silent alarms that were monitored by the control room, so she didn't worry. There was a small potting shed at the edge of the patio. It was locked so Stephanie grabbed another stone and beat at the hasp until it broke. She let herself in and found a stack of beach towels folded in the corner that she used to wrap herself in for warmth. Not knowing who would come looking for her first, she crawled under a worktable, hid behind a large ceramic pot and waited.

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	22. Chapter 22

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's Note: Thank you, Thank you, to the many readers who let me know you were out there. It looks like the fanfic traffic report is trying valiantly to make a comeback, but hearing directly from the readers made it all so much better. So many of you had predictions of what would happen next. Here it is. I hope you like it!

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

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Chapter 22

Amidst the flashing skies announcing the coming storm, several black RangeMan vehicles pulled to the side of the road in front of the gate leading to Grayson Murdock's beach house. The homes along this road were few and far between. A testament to the money involved. Isolated property like this, even outside the confines of Miami proper, was some of the most expensive real estate in the state of Florida. It offered the rich and famous the privacy few could afford.

The men silently unloaded from the vehicles and began their tasks of preparation. Some cased and secured the surrounding area while others double checked equipment and finalized communications. Hector immediately located the control box for the gate and removed the cover to execute the job, using the skills Ranger so highly prized.

Ranger was handed a headset that each team member would wear to keep everyone in contact with each other and the control room at RangeMan during the entire operation.

"¿Cuánto tiempo más, Héctor?" (How much longer, Hector?) On the outside Ranger was the embodiment of calm and controlled, on the inside he was a ten-car pile-up on route 1.

Hector looked at his watch. Back at headquarters, he had brushed up on the specs for this model of gate security, and he had made a mental estimate that he could complete the job in less than eight minutes. It had been four. "Tres minutos más," he responded confidently. (Three minutes more).

Hector returned his concentration to the wires and buttons inside the box, diligently determined to meet his, now publicized, deadline on time while Ranger stood over his shoulder.

Following a widespread flash of lightning and a delayed low rumble of thunder, the otherwise silent night was broken by the distinctive crack of three consecutive gunshots that rang out from the vicinity of the house.

Ranger swung his attention toward the direction of the shots, trying to bore a hole through the distance and the darkness with anxiety and dread in his eyes. Hector realized that his three minutes might as well be three hours in terms of the urgency now required. He made an executive decision that may have been influenced by a situation he had shared with Stephanie not so long ago in her apartment hallway. Hector took out his gun and shot the control panel. He then stepped in front of the gate and shot the lock.

"Podemos entrar ahora. Sólo me llevó una," Hector replied to Ranger, reholstering his weapon. (We can go in now. It only took me one.)

Rain began to fall and Tank didn't hesitate to push the gate open. The men scattered onto the premises, taking their predetermined routes at a quicker pace than planned.

It took several minutes to reach the house from the gate. Upon entering the front door Bobby and Tank began stealthily making their way through the rooms of the first floor. Ranger, Lester, and Hector took the stairs, carefully covering each other's backs as they slowly climbed. When they approached the top, Ranger spotted a body lying in a doorway just off to the right of the stairs. Ranger finished his ascent and carefully reached down to check for a pulse. He nodded and gave a 'thumbs up' signal to indicate that the victim was still alive, and then he checked the man for any weapons he might be carrying. The empty gun holster caught his attention and he glanced past the body into the dark room. With the help of the lightning flashes from the storm, he saw the outline of what appeared to be more bodies on the floor. He fought the panic that rose at the thought that one of those bodies could belong to Stephanie. He motioned for Lester to come with him and indicated to Hector with hand signals that he should check the remaining rooms for suspects or victims.

Ranger and Lester stood with their backs flat against the wall on either side of the door and prepared to enter the room. Lester noticed a gun lying just inside the doorway and nudged it closer with his foot. He pulled a cloth from one of his many pockets and gingerly picked up the weapon. He wrapped it up and tucked it into the back waist band of his pants.

As they entered, Ranger flipped the switch on the wall and lit the entire room with a steady source of light. He did a quick inspection of his surroundings. A woman in white pajamas was leaning over one of the two male bodies lying on the floor. She was completely absorbed in her sorrow and didn't even react to the light. Her auburn hair and petite frame quickly eliminated the possibility of her being Stephanie. He glanced around the rest of the room and saw no sign of anyone else. His next priority was to secure the room. The weeping woman gave no indication that she was aware of their presence. Never turning his back on her, he started with the unattended body. He used his foot to roll it over and recognized Marcus Sandor. The three gunshot wounds to the chest and the eyes fixed open in wide surprise clued him in that the man was dead. His cursory pat down on the body for weapons revealed a knife in his back pocket and the awareness that the man's belt was unfastened, his zipper was down and his cock was hanging out. Ranger silently convulsed with fear for what Stephanie may have endured. He closed his eyes briefly to refocus and then turned to his partner.

Lester had by this time checked for a pulse on the body of Grayson Murdock and shook his head in answer to Ranger's wordless inquiry.

Ranger stood to check out the rest of the room. He pushed open the bathroom door and switched on the light. After checking the shower, he re-entered the main room and inspected the walk-in closet. He picked up Stephanie's bloody shirt and carried it back into the room. He noticed the disarray of the bed, a small amount of blood on one of the pillows, and the heel of a shoe partially sticking out from under the sheets.

"She was here," Ranger said softly.

"How can you tell?" Lester questioned.

"Look at the dinner tray," he nodded at the food still sitting on the small table. Salad's still there…dessert's gone."

Lester slowly nodded his head in agreement. "That'd be our Beautiful all right."

Hector entered the room. "Todo despejado." (All clear.)

Ranger approached Colleen and crouched down next to her. He gripped her shoulders and lifted her off the body of Grayson Murdock. He was angry and wanted to be rough and demanding to get his information, but when he saw her tear streaked face and realized how young she was, he softened. "Where is Stephanie?"

Colleen looked up at Ranger. Her eyes were puffy, wet and red. "You must be Carlos," she whimpered through her softening tears and sobs. "She didn't think you were coming. They showed her the newspapers. She knew everybody thought she was dead."

"Where is she?" he repeated, this time with a little more threatening force.

"With Jake," she answered weakly as she stared toward the open French doors. "He took her away."

Ranger was spurred by a new sense of urgency at Colleen's information. "How long ago?"

Colleen looked confused. She didn't answer. Her concept of time had stopped when she saw Grayson drop to the floor.

Ranger shook her shoulders impatiently and spoke more vehemently. "How long ago?"

Colleen had stopped her sobbing and was now numb and overwhelmed by the events. "I…I don't…know. He…he came in after I…shot Marcus." She sat back and wrapped her arms tightly around herself in comfort from the awful memory. "He was so…angry."

Colleen's actions drew Ranger's attention to the rest of her body. "Brown," Ranger called into his headset. "Get up here."

Lester looked at Ranger, wondering why he would bother with calling for the team medic. "They're both dead, Boss."

"She's bleeding," he nodded toward Colleen.

Colleen heard his words, but it took her a second to register what he was saying. She looked at her hands and saw nothing, but when her eyes scanned lower, she noticed the blossom of red between her legs that Ranger was referring to. She clutched her belly in a protective way. It was a maternal instinct to caress and connect to the child she carried. "I'm sorry little one," she whispered, fresh tears forming in her eyes, "but it's better this way."

"Santos." Ranger barked. "How long since the shots were fired?"

Lester looked at his watch. "Twenty-one minutes."

"Nick, have your men reported any activity at the gate?"

"No one in or out since you entered." Nick's voice filtered in over the headset. "Sounds like you have bodies and injuries. You need assistance?"

Bobby rushed to the room, stopping along the way to check the pulse of the unconscious man in the hall. Ranger nodded toward Colleen, Bobby dropped to her side, briefly looked her over then looked back to Ranger and nodded an affirmative to Nick's question.

"Better send an ambulance," Ranger reported back.

"That's going to bring company," Nick dutifully reminded him.

"Can't be helped," Ranger sighed. He left Colleen in Bobby's care and walked over to the open French doors. "They can't be far if they're on foot. Perimeter report," he ordered in a sharp command.

Tony's voice reported, "Team Two. The east side doors are secure. No sign of movement. Over."

Cal's voice was next. "Team One. Nothing on the west side. Currently investigating the back side of the house." There was a short pause, a rustling sound and a few grunts.

"Report, Team One," Ranger said, stepping onto the balcony for an attempt at an unlikely visual.

There was additional grunting and it finally went quiet for a moment. Woody's voice followed. "Team One. We've got a suspect in custody. Possibly Jake Murdock. Would need assistance to confirm that. Over."

"Roger, Team One, what's your position?"

"Back of the premises, approximately three hundred feet directly behind the house. Over," Woody replied.

"Hold your position, Team One. I'll be right there."

"Roger."

Ranger stepped back into the room. "Santos, you stay with Brown. Get as much information from her as you can before the authorities get here. I want to know what the hell went on in here. And get Tony up here to keep an eye on that guy in the hall. Hector, you're with me."

Ranger started across the deck and was down the stairs with Hector on his heels. They jogged to the back of the property near where it began to drop off to the ocean. The rain was coming down harder, and as they approached they could see that Cal and Woody had the suspect on the ground and cuffed.

Ranger kneeled down in front of the suspect and lifted his face with a ruthless yank. "Jake Murdock?"

Jake was struggling to catch his breath. Between the chase, the take down and the wounds he had suffered during Stephanie's escape, he was in rough shape. He didn't answer.

Ranger noticed the blood on the side of his face and neck. He looked up at his two men. "You do this?"

"No, sir. Found him like that. Was running with sort of a limp, too. Didn't put up much of a fight," Woody responded with a slight tilt of a smile.

Jake jerked his face out of Ranger's hand. "It was that stupid bitch of yours!" he yelled. "She stabbed me with a god damned shoe!"

"Where is she?" Ranger's tone was demanding and his demeanor not to be messed with.

"How the hell should I know?" Jake impudently replied. "The bitch hit me and kicked me in the balls." He fought against his restraints. "Damn it! When I get my hands on that bitch…"

Jake never finished the sentence. Hector grabbed him by the back of his collar, lifted him single handedly to his knees and twisted the man's body around to within an inch of his face. The powerful, violent intent of the assault caused Jake to gasp and grunt. "You will never have your hands on her again, you fucking piece of mierda." Hector's voice was angry, dark, and resolute. "I will tear the tongue from your mouth and push it up your ass, if you even think of her again. Puto bastardo!" Hector finished his threat by punching him in the face. When Stephanie's assailant fell back, Hector stood and kicked him in the gut. Twice.

Ranger put a hand on Hector's shoulder. "Necesito más respuestas de él." (I need more answers from him.)

Hector was breathing hard, not from the physical exertion, but from the pent up hatred and vicious revulsion he felt for Jake Murdock. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to moderate his body's savage desire to slice the man into tiny pieces.

"Bien," Hector conceded, while keeping his eyes on Jake. He stepped away.

Ranger nodded at Cal and Woody and they hauled Jake back to his feet. "Where did Stephanie go?" Ranger asked one more time.

Jake cautiously peered over Ranger's shoulder at Hector, obviously wary of another attack. "I don't know," he begrudgingly admitted. "I was trying to get us both out of here before the cops came. She attacked me and I went down. When I got up again, she was gone." Jake spit blood onto the ground. "I was still looking for her when your goons took me out."

Ranger could feel Hector vibrating with anger behind him. He was like a wild animal pacing in a cage. Ranger knew that if he stepped aside, Hector would torture and kill the bastard without a second thought, and he was tempted to let that happen. He wanted nothing more than to bury his fist down Jake Murdock's throat. Carlos Manoso's legendary control, as usual when it came to Stephanie and her well being, was in short supply, and his own consuming ache for violent retribution was simmering just below the surface. As a consolation, and in the interest of continuing his search for Stephanie, he grabbed Jake by the front of his shirt, filling his shaking fists with wet and blood soaked fabric. He pulled him close and issued an ominous threat through gritted teeth. "I'm not done with you yet. I promise you will pay for what you've done."

He pushed Jake back into the waiting clutches of Woody and Cal. "Take him back to the house. The authorities should be there soon." Ranger turned and walked away, ordering through his mic that everyone should be on the lookout for Stephanie. "She could be hiding, she could be hurt. If you find her, approach her with caution. She may not recognize you and she's running scared."

"Ranger?" Nick's voice came back. "This may be coincidence, but I doubt it. We just got an alarm at the residence just to the east of your location. It's one of our clients that dumps the Miami life from October to May and winters in the Bahamas'. I've sent a team to check it out, but you're closer, and it may be related to Bomber."

Ranger turned back toward the beach and hustled down the path leading to the steps. The sun was beginning to rise and he could just make out the image of a house in the distance. "What kind of alarm did you get? Fire or B & E?"

"B & E. It's a window sensor, south side."

"Do we have eyes there?"

"No, strictly alarms and sensors, no cameras."

Hector had followed Ranger to the edge of the stone steps. He had picked up the conversation, too. There was a knowing smile on his face. "Mi Bonita." Hector tapped his head. "She knows. I teach her that."

Ranger was afraid to hope. "Let's go find out." The two men headed down the steps and across beach at breakneck speed. Ranger barked orders as they ran. "Tank, leave a crew there to continue a search of the premises, and get the rest of the men and their vehicles to the location Nick just called in. Hector and I will be coming in from the back. I want every available man combing this area."

"Got it, boss."

The ambulance was still ten minutes out so Bobby remained behind with Lester to monitor Colleen. Tank organized the scene and took off for the new location with half of the RangeMan crew in tow.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie was so cold her fingers had gone numb. She had only been inside the shed for a few minutes but she could feel herself getting drowsy. Her chest hurt where Jake had pierced her skin with the knife. Her face was swollen and her lip was crusted with dried blood. She felt bruised between her legs from Marcus' attempt to rape her, and her feet were cut up from the run down the beach. The longer she sat the sorer she became.

She wanted to give in to her need for sleep, but she was afraid that she would be blindsided by an unwelcome guest, or she wouldn't be able to tell when the men from RangeMan arrived to check out the alarm she hoped she'd set off. She strained to listen for any sound of that beyond the raindrops hitting the thin roof of the small shed and the pounding surf in the distance.

She tried to focus on the thoughts of joy she would experience to reunite with Carlos and tell him she was alive. She wondered if she should make the call herself or if it would be better for someone from RangeMan to buffer the news beforehand to lessen the shock. Stephanie let out a small chuckle chiding herself for believing she would have any control over that situation. Once a RangeMan employee discovered her, she estimated it would take all of thirty seconds for Ranger to receive a call, regardless of her wishes. Any employee would be acutely aware that if Ranger had found out the she was alive and it had taken more than a minute for him to be notified, being called to the mats at five am would be the least of their worries as far as retribution was concerned. There were remote foreign countries to consider.

All the earlier, melancholy imaginings of her friends and family believing she was dead were replaced with pleasant, comforting ponderings of their reactions to discovering she was alive. She'd been gone nearly a week. There had been a funeral. How will her parents react? Her Grandma Mazur? Stephanie used these thoughts to keep her mind alert and occupied, but it wasn't long before the monotonous tattoo of the pattering rain lured her into a trance-like stupor and sleep won her over.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

As Hector and Ranger approached the backside of the property, Ranger's first and strongest reaction was to rush in calling Stephanie's name, but the possibility still existed that this was an unrelated event. In this situation, RangeMan protocol required a stealth approach.

They quickly climbed the few short stairs that led to the landscaped backyard. As Stephanie had done, they followed the path toward the house and immediately discovered the source of the alarm. The rain had ceased, the skies were beginning to clear, and enough of the sun had risen to plainly reveal the broken window to the right of the back door. A sheer, lacy curtain had blown through the shattered glass and was caught on a jagged edge.

They made a cursory visual inspection of the property. The patio, likely filled with furniture and decorations in the spring, summer and fall months, was now mostly barren while the owners wintered away. Only a few bulkier pieces remained, and transparent plastic covers sheltered those. Ranger grabbed the knob on the back door and attempted to open it. Locked.

By now they could hear the arrival of the RangeMan vehicles at the front of the house.

"Nick, who has the codes up front?" Ranger asked into his headset.

"Tony's got 'em. They're just about to enter the front door," Nick reported back. "They'll start a room by room search. You got anything yet?"

"Negative. Found the window. Looks like a rock was thrown. Could have been vandals. The door hasn't been forced." Ranger turned to give himself a better view of the backyard now that the sun was illuminating a good deal of detail. He caught sight of a small shed tucked away at the corner of the property. A second glance brought to his attention the broken lock. "Hold on, Nick." He caught Hector's attention and nodded in the direction of the shed.

Hector indicated his understanding and followed Ranger to edge of the patio with guns drawn. They slowly approached the shed and took up a position on either side of the door. Ranger nodded that he was ready and Hector reached for the door handle. The door hinges creaked as he pulled it open. Light flooded the interior and Ranger took a step up into the small room. There wasn't enough space for both of them to enter comfortably, so Hector remained watchful from his vantage point in the doorway.

Ranger took in the various tools, pots and bags of dirt. Nothing seemed out of place, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Stephanie was nearby.

Standing one step lower, Hector had a better view of the area under the heavy worktable on the left side of the room. He espied the large ceramic pot tucked away underneath and pointed at it with his gun so Ranger would see the same potential hiding place.

Ranger crouched down and immediately spotted two bare feet covered with sand and spotted with blood.

His heart nearly stopped as he softly and breathlessly murmured a word he had, until this moment, thought he would never utter again. "Babe."

He reached cautiously for the feet and in the process shifted his body to move further under the table. It was from this new angle that he could see her face. He looked beyond the swollen red cheek, the dried blood and the matted wet curls and saw the most beautiful sight he had ever laid his eyes upon.

His hand on her foot hadn't disturb her rest, but when he set his gun to the side and stretched to reach a hand to caress her face, her eyes shot open and instant fear filled every fiber of her being. She put her hands up in self-defense and recoiled as far back as she could against the hard wall. She used her feet as weapons and kicked frantically at the perceived threat.

"Babe, Babe, it's okay. It's all right. It's me, Carlos. You're safe." Ranger backed off slightly to assure her of his non-violent intentions.

Stephanie froze at the sound of his voice. She dropped her hands and stared at the face before her. "Carlos? Oh, god Carlos."

Suddenly the space became too confining, and she pushed at the heavy pot to make room so she could move forward. It barely budged, but a determined shove from Ranger's hand thrust it out from under the table.

As soon as she was free, Stephanie lunged into his arms and clung to him with all the strength she had left.

Ranger wrapped his arms tightly around her, wanting her to feel both his relief of her return and the security he had to offer. He carefully maneuvered them out from under the table and pulled her into his lap. He disconnected his headset and tossed it to the floor, then put her face in his hands to get a better look at her condition. A brilliant sunbeam from the post storm dawn filtered in through the small window above them, bathing them in a welcomed warmth.

"Babe." Ranger rubbed the pad of his thumb over her swollen cheek and bloody lip. "Your hurt." Tears were building in his eyes. Stephanie had never seen such depth of emotion expressed by his face.

"I'm okay, I'm alive. I'm not dead. They told me you thought I was dead. I didn't think you'd find me." Stephanie was so overcome with the reunion that words and random thoughts were spilling out indiscriminately as she clutched against him. "I'm okay. I can't…I can't believe you're here. I …I…Oh god, I've missed you so much, Carlos. I was trying to get away, to get to you. I know you thought I was dead. I'm not dead. He took me. Jake Murdock took me. Don't let me go, Carlos. God, don't let me go." She tightened her grasp around his neck.

"Sh, sh, sh, Querida," he whispered in a broken voice. "I know, I know." He pulled her into a hug. "Babe, Te amo, Te amo."

Hector stepped back with a smile on his face and release in his heart. He closed the door slightly to give them privacy, and his own emotions caught up with him. He relaxed against the side of the shed and slid down. He rubbed his hands over his face and made a report over his headset. "Tank, we have found Bonita in the back. She is alive."

"Thank God." Tank was part of the search team inside the house. When he heard the news, he leaned against the hallway wall and lifted his head in reverent relief. "Hector, how is she? Is she okay? Do you need Bobby or Jack?"

"Ella es un poco maltratadas y golpeadas por lo que puedo ver. Ella está con el jefe en este momento y parece ser todo lo que necesita en este momento." (She's a little battered and bruised from what I can see. She's with the boss right now and it seems to be all she needs at this time.)

"Esa es una buena noticia, mi amigo." (That's good news, my friend). Tank took a deep cleansing breath. "Nick, what's the status at Murdock's house?"

"Hot damn, Tank," Nick's voice responded enthusiastically. "I passed along Hector's news and they're all feeling a great deal better right about now. The ambulance and the authorities have arrived. Bobby should be free if you need him down there."

"I'll let you know. Over." Tank and the others turned to the task of securing the house.

Ranger kept Stephanie close for several minutes, jubilantly processing the reality that he had her back. He comforted her with his rhythmic Spanish words as she cried almost uncontrollably. A million things were going through his head. A million things he wanted to ask her. A million things he _needed_ to ask her. But for now, for everything she had been through. For everything _he_ had been through, she just needed to be held and he needed to hold her.

The eclipse had concluded, and the sun had emerged for the first time in nearly a week. The questions and answers could wait a little while longer.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Author's Note: Because of the holiday weekend and a really busy family and work schedule (I work at a church), I will not post my next update on Saturday morning! I'm sorry about this since I strive to maintain some consistency for the readers. The upside is that at least I'm leaving Stephanie safely in Ranger's arms while we're away from this story, and not leaving you with a 'do or die' cliffhanger. The story is not over. I will post the next update next Tuesday am.

I hope everyone enjoys the blessings that the holiday can bring, both spiritually and secularly. Happy Easter!


	23. Chapter 23

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's Note: Thank you all for your incredible patience for this new chapter. Easter week was very busy, but very rewarding. I hope all of you had a lovely holiday.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 23

Hector continued to protect the sacred reunion in the shed. He'd had just a brief chance to take in Stephanie's condition and appearance before he pushed the door shut, and he had noticed the injuries to her feet and face and the fact that she was wet. He gave them a several more minutes of privacy and then silenced his mic and pulled out his cell phone.

"Hector?" Jack's anxious voice didn't hesitate. "I heard everything over the com link. How is she?"

"Ah, mi cariño, she is alive," Hector said with tired relief. "Are you here?"

Jack could hear the profound alleviation and weariness in Hector's voice and ached to comfort him. "I moved to the second house with one of the teams. I'm out front in their SUV. What do you need?"

"Right now, I think our Bonita needs you. Can you come with a medical bag and a blanket?"

Jack stepped out of the SUV and opened the back gate, gathering items as he spoke. "Bobby left me some supplies. I'll be right there."

"Come through the house. It will be quicker. I will tell Tank."

"Hector," Jack stopped his progress and turned privately into the phone. "What do _you_ need?"

There was a short pause before he heard an answer. "Te necesito," Hector whispered back. (I need you.)

Jack didn't speak much Spanish. Only the little he had learned from his time with Hector. But he knew those words. They were often uttered in their most intimate moments. Jack was acutely aware of the strain that Hector had been under, first with Stephanie's supposed death, and since with her kidnapping and unknown whereabouts. Despite the fierce, brave face he displayed to the public, Hector was a deeply impassioned individual. He'd learned to hide it from all but a very select few. Jack was warmed at Hector's statement. He had harbored some concern that the nearly twenty year difference between their ages would eventually become an obstacle that they may not be able to overcome, but Hector's declaration of his need for Jack in this situation had reaffirmed his value to the man he loved so much.

Jack shut his eyes and sighed, "I'll be there for you." He closed the SUV's tailgate and hustled toward the front door of the house.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie took a slow, deep breath and calmed her shaking body. She sat back and focused on Ranger's face. She ran the fingers of her left hand along the features she had become so familiar with and had missed so terribly. "I feel like we've been apart forever. It's been so awful being away from you." Her fingers slowed when they hit the rough skin of a couple of blisters. She felt Ranger twitch slightly. "What happened?"

"It's nothing. Got a little to close to a fire."

"Grayson showed me the newspaper articles from Trenton, Carlos. I know you were there. I know you saw…you thought…I was in the car." Stephanie's trembling returned with her imagining of what he'd experienced. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. It must have been terrible."

Ranger caressed her fingers with his. "It was the worst day of my life." Ranger's tremulous utterance barely escaped his lips.

Stephanie brought one of their entwined hands to her cheek and leaned into it, causing her tears to detour around the obstacle. For the first time she felt the roughness of his hand, and she pulled it away. She didn't say anything about the angry swollen stitches running from the base of his thumb. Words between them had become superfluous.

Ranger brought her fingers back to his lips and began kissing each one individually. Just as he reached her ring finger, he stopped.

Stephanie noticed the questioning look on his face and answered before he could ask. "It's gone. Jake said he took all my jewelry and put it on the girl who died in my car." She was obviously upset. "I'm sorry that I lost your ring."

"I know about the ring, Querida, it was found in the debris. Don't worry about the ring. I'll get you another one," he said reassuringly. "Your cast is gone."

Stephanie looked at her wrist and rubbed it as she spoke. "It didn't travel so well under the circumstances, and by the time we reached Miami it had started to fall apart. Jake cut it off."

She shifted in his lap and hissed at the pain that shot through her tender breasts and pelvis.

Ranger's eyes narrowed in concern. "Babe, where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere." She avoided specifics. "I feel like I've gone ten rounds with Tank," she giggled nervously.

Stephanie tried to make light of her injuries, but Ranger wasn't having it. "Stephanie, I was at Murdock's house. I was in your room. I saw Marcus Sandor's body…and his clothes. Babe, did he…?"

Stephanie dropped her head in shame or embarrassment, Ranger couldn't tell which.

"He tried," she whispered. "Grayson stopped him."

"What about Jake or Grayson Murdock?"

Stephanie shook her head.

Ranger lifted her face to his by gently caressing her chin. He forced her eyes to meet his own. "Tell me again."

Stephanie met his intense gaze with soft, welling tears. "I wasn't raped."

Ranger read and verified the truth in her eyes a moment longer. "Okay." He dropped his hand and pulled her close once again. "I'm sorry, mi amada, I had to know."

"I understand," she whispered into his neck.

Ranger closed his eyes in relief and then asked in a compassionate voice, "Did they hurt you?"

"Yes." Stephanie's response was so soft he almost didn't hear her.

Ranger was the one who pulled back this time. He needed to see her face again. He ran his fingers gently over her injuries. "Your face is swollen and red. Who hit you?"

"Marcus."

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you," Ranger said, his eyes filled with self-reproach.

Stephanie knew where this was headed and she used her next words to try to cut short his journey of blame. "You couldn't have stopped this. They were very determined."

Ranger disregarded her attempt at absolution and sternly replied, "I should have protected you better. This kind of danger is what I have always worried about."

Stephanie put a hand to her forehead as if fighting off a headache. "Carlos, I don't want to...I can't argue with you about this now."

Ranger's concern was drawn back to her apparent pain, and he conceded to her request. "You're right." He delicately touched her split lip. He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss to the side of the injury, and then whispered feather light kisses over the rest of her face. "I want to have Bobby take a look at you."

Stephanie looked surprised. "Bobby's here?"

Ranger nodded. "I brought the entire core team and a few others when we discovered that you were not the one in the car. Some of them are here and some of them are back at Murdock's house trying to sort out the situation there."

"Oh my god! Colleen!" Stephanie's cry of realization and panic caught Ranger off guard. "Jake knocked her down the stairs. I have to go back! I have to see if she's okay!" She tried to get her feet under her in order to stand, but they had grown so stiff she couldn't put weight on them and she collapsed back into Ranger's lap.

"It's okay, Querida. Bobby is with her. They've called for an ambulance."

"Was she conscious? She's pregnant. They need to know that."

"She was awake. I spoke to her. She's the one that told me that Murdock had taken you from the house." Ranger held Stephanie by the shoulders to get her attention. "Babe, it doesn't look good for the baby."

Stephanie relaxed back into Ranger's chest. She said a private prayer for Colleen and her unborn child. "Carlos, they won't hurt her will they? She tried to help me. She did help me. She shot Marcus. If it wasn't for her….. God, she's so young."

"I'll make sure she's okay. We'll talk to the authorities."

"What about Grayson?"

"He's dead."

Stephanie nodded. She was pretty sure of that before she had been dragged from the room. She was silent for a long time, trapped in her reflections of Colleen and all that had happened to her that night.

Ranger didn't push. He let her move at her own pace.

As her memories flashed back, a thought occurred to Stephanie, and she shot up in panic. "Jake! He's still out there. I ran away from him. We have to find him. He could go after Colleen!"

"We have Jake in custody," Ranger pulled her back into his chest assuring her in a calm voice. He gently rubbed her back and smiled into her hair. "Babe, you didn't just run away from him did you?"

"I put up a bit of a fight," she humbly admitted.

"The hole in his neck had designer shoe written all over it, and Woody said Murdock had trouble running from them because of a peculiar limp."

"Well, I'll admit that some of the special training from the guys came in handy." She secretly smiled against his skin."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Jack came through the back door with Tank. Cal and Woody were already stationed on the back patio after having cleared the house. Cal noticed the medical bag and nodded toward the edge of the patio, mutely guiding Jack to where Stephanie was located. Jack moved in that direction and saw Hector crouched to the side of the door of the shed, arms resting on his knees, intensely focused on his own thoughts. He slowed his approach, set down his bag and came to rest next to Hector in a mimicking stance. Jack put a gentle arm across his shoulder and gave him an affectionate squeeze. Hector lifted his eyes. They stayed like that, in silent communication, for several seconds.

One of the most fulfilling aspects of Jack and Hector's relationship was their ability to communicate with simple, tactile connections, expressions, and visual cues. They were easy together, and for Jack, whose life's work centered around and thrived on successful, spoken communication, it was a refreshing and liberating experience.

"You found her." Jack's reassuring words were bolstered by the pride displayed in his face. "Good work, soldier." He had long suspected that Hector felt a certain amount of inadequacy working around the highly trained professionals at RangeMan. It was not something they had discussed, but he had gleaned the sentiment from general conversations they had shared and small observations he'd made when Hector interacted with other members of the team.

"Si." Hector brought his hand up to cover Jack's on his shoulder and his broad smile, confirmed for Jack that his soldier comment had been well received. "It is a good day."

"She inside?" Jack nodded toward the door.

"Si, I will let them know you are here." Before he stood, Hector lifted Jack's hand off his shoulder and brought it to his lips. He whispered a simple Spanish thank you and followed it with a tender, lingering kiss into the open palm.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Ranger's phone vibrated and he looked down at the text message. "Jack's outside. He's here to take a look at you."

"Isn't this rather an odd time for a session with my shrink?" Stephanie queried lightly.

"Jack is here to look at your injuries. Bobby is still back at the beach house finishing up with Colleen."

"Oh," Stephanie replied. "Did you leave anyone in Trenton?"

"You have no idea, Babe."

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Enter."

The door opened slowly, and when Stephanie caught sight of Hector, she gasped, produced a tired smile, and reached for him. Hector acknowledged the invitation and stepped up into the shed. He was carrying Jack's bag, so he set it to the side and crouched down in front of her. He pulled her into a warm embrace and gave her an affectionate kiss on her damp cheek.

"Mi joya preciosa, pensé que te había perdido. Mi corazón estaba roto." (My precious jewel, I thought I'd lost you. My heart was broken.)

Stephanie sighed in contentment. The pure sense of relief in his poignant display of affection made translation of his words unnecessary. Hector made her feel important and loved, and that was all she needed from him.

"I promised myself I'd give you a big kiss when I saw you again." Still cautious of her tender split lip and bruised face, she leaned forward and gave him a delicate kiss on the cheek. "This is all I can manage right now. Thank you," she whispered into his ear.

"For what, Chica?" He looked at her curiously.

"I picked a lock on the door in Grayson Murdock's house. You taught me that, and you taught me about the security system in this house. I knew how to use it to call for help. You were a great teacher, Hector."

"You are the good student, Bonita, but I think the shoe was your idea. I no teach you that. He smiled against her hair and pulled back from their embrace. "Jack is here. He needs to look at you now."

"Okay," she said. "Thank you, Hector, for coming down here to find me."

"It will be good to have you home again. Trenton was a sad place when you were gone."

Hector stepped out of the shed and Jack made his way in with his bag and the blanket. He handed the blanket to Ranger who gently placed it around Stephanie's shoulders then resumed his hold on her waist. Jack settled into a position on the floor.

"There's not a lot of room in here and it's been a while since I've done any field work. So let's start with something simple, shall we? How are you feeling?"

Stephanie gave him a devious smile. "Mentally or physically?"

"We'll get to the mental part later. I want to clean up some of these wounds first." He did a quick visual inspection while he opened his bag. "I see some of the obvious cuts and bruises, and while I'm sure they hurt like hell, they appear to be relatively minor." He looked at Stephanie directly in the eye. "You're pale, and you have bruises around your wrists. What am I not seeing?"

Stephanie hesitated so Ranger stepped in. "She told me that Sandor attempted to rape her, but wasn't successful."

Jack nodded. "How far did he get?"

Stephanie had trouble maintaining eye contact with either man. It was something she didn't want to think about, let alone talk about. She stared over Jack's shoulder and focused on some gardening tools standing against the corner of the room. She struggled to form the words she needed to say.

"He…he…grabbed my…breasts…they feel…bruised." She delicately laid a hand on her chest in subconscious illustration.

"Is there more, Stephanie?"

She nodded and tears began to well-up in her eyes. She held her gaze on the tools.

"He…took off my…pants." She closed her eyes as the unpleasant memory flooded her mind. She really didn't want to go there again.

Her tears started to fall and Ranger tightened his hold around her waist. He buried his face in her hair to stave off his own tears. "I'm so sorry, Amada."

Jack hated this part of his job. In all his experiences of practice, one of the most difficult scenarios he had dealt with was sexual assault. It wasn't common in the military, but he'd worked with several women and a few men over the years. Rape was a violation that was so much more personal, so much more insidious than most any other type of physical assault.

"Was he rough with you?"

Stephanie nodded.

"How rough?"

Stephanie shuttered and inhaled. "He hurt me with his hands. I'm very…sore…there."

Jack took one of Stephanie's hands in his and softened his voice even more. "Stephanie, I'm sorry, but I have to ask the next couple of questions. You said he didn't rape you, but did he penetrate you with anything else? His hands, an object…?"

Stephanie snapped to attention and shot a sharp, disconcerting look at Jack. "No! He didn't. I'm just bruised. That's all."

Her defensive, angry remark caught Ranger off guard, but not Jack. He'd seen it before. The anger was a good, healthy response. Stephanie was fighting her victim status.

Jack decided to change the focus for a while. He pulled out some gauze and antiseptic and began cleaning the wounds on her feet. When he was finished, he applied some antibiotic ointment and wrapped both feet in bandages to keep them clean. Her knees were scraped but only needed cleaning and a couple of Band-Aids. He noted the bruises on her arms, and moved to treat her lip.

Stephanie hissed at the sting, but otherwise tolerated the treatment and remained tense and stoically silent.

Jack had finished treating all of the exposed injuries he could locate. There was another soft knock on the door and Bobby appeared.

"You're a sight for sore eyes, Bomber," he affectionately greeted her.

Bobby's warm smile melted Stephanie's remaining anger and she smiled back.

"How's our girl?" Bobby asked. The room was getting crowded, but he managed to squeeze his six foot plus frame next to Jack and gave Stephanie a kiss on the cheek. "It's really good to see you alive, sweetheart."

"I'm okay, now." Stephanie answered. "How's Colleen?" she asked anxiously.

Bobby answered her question with one of his own while he examined her eyes with a small flashlight he pulled from his bag. "Did you know she was pregnant?"

"Yes." Stephanie hesitated to continue. "Marcus raped her right after he was released on bail. She didn't want the baby."

"Well, she may get her wish." Bobby said with some regret. "She was bleeding pretty heavily. Tony followed her to the hospital. He'll keep us updated."

Ranger noticed Stephanie's grimace and deep concern about the information, and he gave her a reassuring kiss on the top of her head.

Jack noticed too. He picked up some discarded dirty supplies and stuffed them into a plastic bio-hazard bag. "I was just finishing with some of her cuts and bruises."

Bobby continued his examination and his questions. "What happened to your cast?" he asked, running his trained hands up and down her bruised wrist, feeling it for damage.

"We had to cut it off a couple of days ago. It was falling apart," Stephanie replied absent-mindedly, still thinking about Colleen and her baby.

Ranger had remained quiet and supportive throughout Stephanie's treatment. He had been waiting for Stephanie to speak up for herself. When she didn't, he spoke for her. "There's one more cut you need to look at, Bobby."

Stephanie gave him questioning look.

"Babe, I saw the shirt on the floor in the closet."

Stephanie immediately touched the place between her breasts. "Jake. I'd almost forgotten." She reached for the neck of her shirt and pulled it down in such a way that it revealed the wound but still discretely covered her breasts.

The injury caught Bobby's attention. "Did he use a knife, Steph?" he asked as he pulled on a pair of latex gloves.

Stephanie nodded, "It didn't bleed very long. Is it bad?"

"Let me get a closer look." He removed some more gauze and antiseptic from the supply bag, and Jack shifted back to make room for him.

Bobby ran the damp gauze across the wound and it started to bleed again. He spoke as he continued to examine the cut. "Ranger, if you would let go and scoot back a bit, I think I could get some additional light and a better look at the how deep this is."

Ranger didn't move, and Bobby looked up. The face said it all, but Ranger didn't hesitate to add a few words to solidify his opinion of Bobby's request. "Deal with it, Brown. I'm not letting go."

"Okay, boss. Tell you what." Bobby finished cleaning the wound and pulled out a fresh gauze pad, "This is probably going to need a stitch or two anyway." He covered the wound with the clean pad and taped it into place. "Steph looks cold, wet, tired, and my guess after seeing the dinner tray from last night, hungry. Let's get the hell out of this shed and back to RangeMan. I'll finish this there."

Ranger looked down at Stephanie and she smiled at him. Bobby's accommodating plan was approved with a nod.

Jack and Bobby gathered up the supplies. Ranger wrapped Stephanie in the blanket and gathered her into his arms and they stepped out of the shed and into the sunny Miami morning.

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The hotel room looked like a refugee camp for the cast of 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey'. The TV was tuned into a sci-fi movie channel and Sigourney Weaver was fearlessly engaged in battle with the ugliest, bitchiest alien ever created by Hollywood. Connie, Val and Emily were laid out like sardines; sound asleep on the king-sized bed. Adria and Cindy each had their head on a pillow at opposite ends of the couch. They were sharing a blanket and had long ago given over the images from the TV, to ones their own subconscious minds were producing in slumber, and Lula had converted the oversized chair and ottoman into a single bed. A large bowl of popcorn was precariously balanced on her stomach and with every deep inhale, it threatened to tumble to the floor, but just as it would reach that critical tipping point, she would exhale and the bowl would, once again, regain its equilibrium. Every available table space was covered with bottles, glasses, ice buckets, and dishes of food ordered from room service. The heavy insulated drapes were pulled shut and the room was darkened, but a small crack between the curtains allowed a streak of morning sunlight to stretch across the floor at the foot of the bed.

Both connecting doors were open, and Junior was snoozing on the bed in the next room, while Hal remained alert and on duty. He had a chair positioned between the rooms and was keeping a protective eye on the ladies, while watching Ripley work her magic with the futuristic robotic arms, on the hideous creature from outer space.

Connie stirred at the sound of her cell phone ringing out the chorus of Big & Rich's hit song, 'Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy'. She groaned as she rolled over to grab the phone off the bedside table. As the fuzziness of the late night and early morning wore off, she realized the importance of the call and quickly sat up to answer it with her full attention.

"Woody?" she croaked out.

"We got her, sweetheart."

Connie's voice picked up in volume to alert the other women in the room. "Oh, god Woody…you found Stephanie? How is she? Where is she? Is she alright?"

Connie was so excited and the questions were coming out so fast, Woody waited for her to take a breath before trying to answer her.

"She's a little banged up, and she's been through a hell of a rough time, but she's alive. She's in the car with Ranger and they're headed back to RangeMan. Bobby and Jack want to check her over some more." Woody's information, delivered in his smooth southern drawl, was soothing, and Connie relaxed against the headboard

By now the entire room was awake and Val was sitting next to Connie watching her responses to the words coming from the other end of the phone, trying to garner some clue as to what she was hearing. Connie placed a comforting hand on Val's arm and mouthed the words, "She's okay."

Connie continued to speak with Woody, but Val didn't hear anything after that. The tears that had been threatening all night fell in joyous abundance. Emily gave her a reassuring hug of mutual relief at the good news and then reached for the box of tissues on the end table near her side of the bed. She handed two to Val and pulled one for herself. Emily had never even met Stephanie, but her interest in the woman's safety and welfare had become almost as vested as any of the others.

Val took a deep cleansing breath. "Emily, could you hand me my bag from the floor?"

Emily leaned over the side of the bed, grabbed the brown leather satchel and lugged it over the bed to Val.

Val furiously dug and finally came up with her own cell phone. She flipped it open and pushed a single button. When the voice at the other end of the phone answered, the tears started again.

"Daddy?" she wept into the line. "They found her. They found Stephanie."

There must have been some confusion on the other end about her meaning, because Val backtracked and restated her information in a rush. "No, Daddy, she's okay." There was a slight pause and then she continued. "No, I haven't seen her yet, but one of Carlos' men called. They have her and she's safe. I don't know anymore than that right now. I just wanted you and Mom and Grandma to know. I'll call you back when I have some more information, okay?" The pause this time was longer. "Okay, I love you too. Bye."

Val closed the phone just shortly after Connie closed hers. The entire room was focused on Connie's next words.

"Stephanie is safe," Connie blurted out with a happy sigh. "Woody said she's a little banged up, and they've taken her back to RangeMan. Evidently, she escaped from where she was being held, ran to a neighboring house and set off a RangeMan alarm to make them show up at the property. Ranger and Hector found her hiding in a small shed."

"Are you sure she's okay?" Val asked.

"Woody said that both Jack and Bobby were with her, and they wanted to check her out some more back at RangeMan. I think it's a good thing that they didn't need to take her to the hospital, right?"

Lula pulled herself into a sitting position on her makeshift bed. Tears streamed down her face as she watched the bowl of popcorn tumble to the floor. When Tank had first told her the details about the men who had taken Stephanie, Lula couldn't help thinking the worst. The memory of the night Benito Ramirez had raped her and cut her, polluted all her thoughts about Stephanie's fate. She had fought hard not to allow the shadow of her own tragedy to darken her speculations about her good friend's chances of surviving this disaster. She had wanted to stay strong for Tank, who needed to stay strong for Ranger, and her negative guesswork would have served no purpose. She never shared it, but the caustic dread constantly lingered in the forefront of her mind.

Stephanie's kindness and concern for the street corner whore, lying near death in the hospital, had been the catalyst to their friendship, and Lula was grateful that Stephanie's encounter with these evil bastards had not resulted in the same outcome. Val may be Stephanie's sister and Lula was glad she was here, but Stephanie was more than a sister to Lula. Stephanie had saved her life. Stephanie had changed her life. Stephanie was her fuckin' hero.

Lula's attention was gently nudged back to the here and now, when Cindy placed a tissue in her hand and sweetly and privately inquired, "Are you okay, Lula?"

Lula nodded in answer and thanked her for the tissue. It was then that she realized Connie was still talking.

"Anyway, girls, we're checking out. Get back to your rooms, take a shower, get dressed, and pack it up. Some of the guys are headed back here to pick us up and take us over to RangeMan."

The women scurried like they had just been informed of a shoe sale at Macy's. As they stood unabashedly from their beds in various stages of dress and nightwear, Hal tried nobly to keep his eyes respectfully lowered. Fortunately his own cell phone rang, and the official call from Tank gave him the excuse to focus on the floor in concentration.

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	24. Chapter 24

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's Note: With the majority of the action and angst past, this story is winding down. Don't worry though, I'll still have one or two more surprises to throw at you yet...just to keep you interested. It's about time I once again thanked my betas Sonomom and Financebabe for their wonderful input and support.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

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Chapter 24

"Babe," Ranger whispered warmly into Stephanie's ear. "We're here." Her slackened hands held a nearly empty bottle of water that Jack had given to her earlier. He carefully lifted it and set it aside.

Stephanie had fallen asleep during the nearly one hour drive back to RangeMan Miami. Ranger didn't need her to wake up, because he fully intended to carry her straight to his apartment on eight, but he was concerned that if he moved her while she was still asleep, she could become disoriented and panicked like she did in the shed. She'd been through enough and he wanted her to feel safe.

They were in one of the larger SUVs, and she was sitting in the middle of the seat curled tightly into Ranger's side. Bobby filled out the back seat on her other side. Hector was driving, and Jack was next to him in the front. Two other RangeMan SUVs and the communications van had caught up with them shortly after leaving the house and had protectively flanked them as they had made their way back to headquarters.

Tank had stayed behind. He called Morelli and gave him the good news and some of the initial details of their success in finding Stephanie. He returned to the beach house to coordinate with the local authorities that had already arrived on the scene. He and Lester also needed to wait for the FBI team that was sure to anxiously appear as soon as Joe contacted them officially with the information on Jake Murdock and his connection to the missing Virginia Commonwealth University student, Chelsea Grant.

It had been a long night, but Stephanie slowly came to consciousness without incident, and Ranger gently lifted her from the car and carried her into the waiting elevator.

Once they entered the apartment, Ranger placed her on the bed with all the care of a prized piece of porcelain and, still refusing to break contact with her, kicked off his shoes, climbed onto the bed next to her and pulled her back into his chest with his arms wrapped around her waist in a possessive and guarded hold. Bobby followed them into the apartment and set his bag at the foot of the bed.

"Steph, I'm not done with checking you out by a long shot, but before I start doing my thing, why don't you take a shower, eat something and put on some loose fitting clothes. You can lightly wash that cut on your chest, but don't rub at it." He reached into his bag and pulled out a package. "It'll probably bleen again, so just cover it with one of these gauze pads when you're done. I'll come back in an hour and see about putting in a couple of stitches. I'll rewrap the cuts on your feet, and I want to get a better look at your cheek bone to make sure you don't have anything broken in there. Is that alright with you?"

Stephanie nodded her head. "Thanks, Bobby. That sounds good."

Bobby stepped out of the bedroom and headed downstairs to find a shower, a change of clothes and some food for himself. He had texted Adria on the ride back; she and the rest of the ladies would be at RangeMan in less than half an hour. She had his clothes, but that was the least of what he needed from her right now. With a sly grin on his face, he briefly wondered if Nick had an empty apartment available.

After Bobby's exit, Ranger and Stephanie remained comfortably semi-horizontal on the bed. Ranger ran his fingertips soothingly up and down her right arm putting them both into an almost trance-like state. When it became obvious that Stephanie was dangerously close to falling asleep again, he tenderly raised her to a sitting position.

"Babe, let's get you in the shower."

Stephanie groaned at the thought of standing on her sore feet, but she bravely dropped them over the side of the bed.

"Stay right there." Ranger moved from behind her and slid off the bed. He carried her into the bathroom and set her on the counter, then kneeled in front of her and started to remove the bandages from her feet.

While Ranger was busy at the floor, Stephanie grabbed the hem of her shirt with both hands and lifted it over her head. She still had a bandage covering the knife wound between her breasts and she used a fingernail to gingerly lift the edges of the tape from the tender skin. She hissed through her teeth at the sharp sting it caused.

Ranger jerked his head up at the sound of her distress and for the first time caught sight of the extensive bruising on each of her breasts. He froze as noxious rage shot through his body like the venom from a snake bite. His hands balled tightly into fists that made his knuckles turn white, and he had no self-control to bury his ire behind a blank face.

Stephanie instantly brought her arms up to cover her breasts, only succeeding in covering the bruises with the ones on her arms. "Do I look that bad?"

The hint of shame behind Stephanie's words, and her mortified look when she attempted to cover her body, made Ranger realize she had misinterpreted his response. His angry appearance dissolved and was replaced with a tender mien. Never breaking contact with her eyes, he slowly and deliberately he put his hands over hers and pulled them down. "Babe, you are always beautiful to me. What you saw in my face was anger. Anger that Sandor and Murdock touched you and hurt you. Anger that I wasn't able to stop it…but I am not angry with you." He strongly emphasized the last words.

Stephanie nodded that she understood. Ranger leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him up, demanding more. He deepened the kiss, trying to be wary of her injuries, but she fought his reserved approach and leaned into him, forcing him to put his arms around her to keep her from falling off the counter. Once she was in his arms, Stephanie couldn't stop. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed her hips forward into his groin. The pain that shot across her pelvic bone was sharp and sobering. She instinctively recoiled and gasped.

"Babe, are you alright?"

"I'm wonderful," she said sarcastically through gritted teeth against his chest. "But would it be okay with you if we waited a few days before we try that again?"

Ranger tried to step back and she held on keeping him in her arms a moment longer. "Do you want me to have Bobby bring you something for the pain?"

"Bobby can't give me anything for this, Carlos." She was still speaking into his chest and he couldn't gage her meaning.

He slid down onto his knees so that she was forced to face him. She continued to look toward the floor to avoid eye contact. He took a wayward curl dangling in front of her face and tucked it behind her ear and then lightly retraced the path against her skin with the pad of his thumb. "You can tell me anything, mi amor."

Stephanie found it hard to resist the impassioned force behind his statement. He meant it. She could tell him anything. "When Jake took me, the only thing I wanted was to be back with you. After they showed me the newspaper articles, and I realized that you wouldn't come looking for me, every thought I had was about how I was going to get away from Grayson Murdock's house and find a way to get to you. There were times when I was so…scared…so afraid that I was going to die and you would never know the truth. Grayson thought he had control over his son and nephew, but he didn't. They were angry, sick men, and I never felt safe." She sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "But I did it, Carlos. I got away, and I'm here with you, and I want to be with you, love you…and it hurts too much. I feel so damaged and…frustrated."

"Stephanie, you're injured, but you will heal. When I look at you I don't see bruises and wounds. I see the woman I love more than anything else in this world. How you look right now only matters to me because it means that you are hurting. You are a beautiful, intelligent woman who fought her way out of a very dangerous and scary situation. I am so honored and proud that you did it to come back to me…to us." He kissed her tenderly on the lips. "When the time is right for you, we'll make love again. I want to be with you, but I can wait, because just having you here with me is more than I have the right to ask for right now." Ranger broke away from his seriousness with a mischievous grin and ran a suggestive finger down the side of her neck. "Besides, Querida, Bobby may not be able to give you anything for the frustration, but there are plenty of places on that body of yours that aren't bruised or injured. I think I can get creative enough to help a little bit."

This time when he stepped away she allowed it. He disappeared into the bedroom. She heard him make a quick phone call to someone about food, and a few moments after he hung up, he returned with a metal folding chair with a cushioned seat. He opened the shower door and set it up inside. "Mary uses this to reach the top shelves in the closet. She keeps it folded up against the back wall, behind the suits." He returned to the counter, picked Stephanie up, and sweetly deposited her onto the comfortable seat. She slipped off her pants as he undressed, then stepped inside, closed the shower door and adjusted the water. "By the time we're done in here, she'll have some breakfast waiting in the kitchen."

"You're spoiling me again. I'm going to become impossible to live with if you keep treating me like a princess," she playfully teased.

Ranger lowered his face to within inches of hers, caressing her cheeks with both of his hands. In a manner that was completely opposite to her humorous intent, he solemnly and compellingly replied, "Babe, three days ago, I buried you. I thought everything we had…was gone. I could barely find any reason to take my next breath at the idea of my life going on without you." He stopped speaking as the words became choked by the emotion crushing his chest.

Stephanie was frozen by his heartbreaking admission. She canvassed his eyes and saw moisture present, but not as a result of the steam that was building around them.

"It's the second time in as many months I thought I'd lost you. You may just have to put up with it for now," he said. "You can call it spoiling or being overbearing. I won't ask permission, and I won't make excuses for showing you what you mean to me."

Ranger's firm proclamation barred any argument or further discussion. He stood, released the warm spray from the shower nozzle, soaped up a body sponge with his infamous Bvlgari gel and began implementing some of his creative genius.

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Bobby finished his medical work on her external physical injuries with little discomfort to Stephanie. He thoroughly numbed the area around the short knife wound and quickly closed it with two stitches, while being very aware that his every move was being monitored closely by Ranger for any indication that he might be causing her any pain. He gently inspected her cheekbone, applying necessary pressure all around the edges of the bruise, then slowly worked his way toward the center of it. In the end, and to Stephanie's relief, he declared it not broken. He replaced the bandages on her feet and told her that she should be fine to remove them the next day and replace them with a few Band-Aids if necessary, but in the mean time she should avoid splitting open the wounds by staying off her feet.

He discreetly avoided mentioning the red marks on her neck that weren't present in his first examination. He settled instead for an uncharacteristic eye roll and then a more professional look of reproof aimed at his boss.

Ranger's response to Bobby's admonition was discernable only to Stephanie. She turned her head to the side to hide the smile on her face.

"Bomber, we've taken care of all these," he said, gesturing to her fresh bandages. "When we get back to Trenton, we'll schedule an appointment with your orthopedic surgeon to have that wrist x-rayed, and I'll have him double check that bruise on your cheek." He hesitated a moment. "You look like you've eaten fairly well since you've been here."

Stephanie nodded. "They fed me well, once I was here. Colleen was very good to me. She even brought me clothes."

"What about drugs. Did they ever give you anything?"

"Yes."

The concern from Stephanie's acknowledgement became obvious by the look on Bobby's face and his sudden halt to putting supplies back in his bag.

"I was drugged at the mall. I don't remember anything until much later in the day when I woke up bound and blindfolded in the back of a van rolling down the interstate."

"The van we saw in the surveillance video," Ranger remarked.

"That night I was taken to a cottage or motel of some sort. I was offered food and a bathroom break then I was drugged again. I woke up in the morning and I was once again offered food and a chance to use the bathroom. I was drugged again and the next time I woke up I was back in the van on the move again. I was kept drugged most of the trip. I don't even remember how they did it. I never felt anything, and I was always blindfolded before I was knocked out. Whatever it was, it made me nauseated. If I kept track right, they did that on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On Saturday morning I was delivered to Grayson Murdock at the beach house. They didn't drug me after that."

Bobby reached into his bag and pulled out a syringe and a couple of storage vials. Stephanie winced.

"Steph, I'm going to have to draw some blood samples to send off to the lab. We'll need to know if what they gave you is still in your system."

Ranger took the opportunity to distract Stephanie while Bobby drew the blood. He took her hand and had her look right into his eyes. "Babe, the FBI will need to investigate your kidnapping in order to prosecute Jake Murdock. They're going to ask you a lot of questions. So if you're up to it and not too tired yet, I'd like Hector to come in with some equipment and we can record your statement while the details are still fresh to you. Having it recorded might help in the long run in keeping you from having to go through this too many times."

Stephanie twitched at the bite of the needle, but nodded. "I'm okay, I can do this now."

Ranger pulled out his phone and spoke with Hector. Within a few minutes, furniture was being moved, lights and equipment were being brought in and set up, and the bedroom began to take on the look of a television studio.

Jack had arrived with Hector and the equipment. He sat on the edge of the bed, took Stephanie's hand and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Stephanie, if you would rather I not be here for this, I understand."

"No, Jack, please stay. A lot happened to me over the last week. I think it would help if you know the details, too."

"Babe, I haven't mentioned it yet, but when Lula and some of the others found out about your change in status, they came up with a plan to cause a distraction for us so we could search for you at the Wild Horse Inn. We thought there was a good chance that you were being held there." He gave her a slight smile at the memory of the distraction. "They did a great job."

"Lula's here?" Stephanie looked confused.

"And a few others," Ranger answered cryptically. "I want to send them back to Trenton on the jet this afternoon, but I promised they could see you first. They understand that you've been through a lot and that you're tired, so they'll only stay a couple of minutes and they won't ask you a lot of questions. Okay?"

Stephanie was still trying to process the fact that Lula was here, let alone anyone else from Trenton. She distractedly nodded her head and Ranger signaled the okay to Jack.

The visitors must have been anxiously waiting in the hall outside the apartment door, because Jack was only gone a few seconds before the sound of distinctly feminine voices and the mixed scent of perfumes filled the air of the bedroom.

The first face Stephanie saw walk through the door was Lula's. She practically barreled her way passed the lights and recording equipment Hector was setting up.

"Girl, you got to be kidding me!" She belted out as she bee-lined toward Stephanie. "I haul my beautiful booty all the way down here to save your sorry ass, and you go and save yourself!" She stopped by the side of the bed and put a hand on her leaning hip with a look of total exasperation. "Now that's a fine way to show 'preciation to your partner. Whatchou got to say for yoself?" When she ended her tirade she traded her forced annoyance for a smile as big as Jersey.

Stephanie was overwhelmed and her mouth was still hung open in shock. Ranger leaned over and gently lifted her chin to close it. "Catching flies, Babe," he said with a slight smile on his face.

By this time Stephanie had looked past Lula and had caught sight of the others as they entered the room and made their way around the bed. Shock was replaced with tears. Her eyes darted from Val to Connie, to Cindy to Adria and back to Lula. She opened and closed her mouth several times before words actually came out. "Oh my…what...why...Val...Connie? What are you all doing here?" She looked up at Ranger. "What are they all doing here?"

"I told you. They came to help." Stephanie was looking a bit shaky, so Ranger sat down on the bed and put an arm around her waist. He was beginning to think that having this many people in the room was a bad idea. "Are you okay, Babe?" he asked with concern.

She smiled through her tears, and she pulled a corner of the bed sheet up to wipe them, as her gaze settled on her friends once again. She eventually pulled her thoughts together. "I'm fine. I'm just…Lula what do you mean you came down here to save my ass?"

"Just like I said, white girl. We thought you was bein' held at that bar where you captured that bastard Sandor, so we all created a distraction so the guys could do a search of the place. We was real good too, and it would'uv saved your ass, ceptin' that you wasn't there."

"All of you came down here for me?" she asked.

"Sure, Steph," Connie spoke up. "We wanted to help our friend."

Stephanie looked toward her sister. "Val?"

Val stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed. She took her sister's hand and smiled at Stephanie through tears. "We thought you were dead. It was awful. The girls, well, they haven't been the same. Mary Alice stopped talking. Angie won't come out of her room." She sniffed and pulled a tissue out of her pocket. "When Daddy called and told us that Carlos said you were still alive, I couldn't believe it. I was stunned. I stood in the middle of the living room staring at the phone for nearly fifteen minutes not moving." She let out a slight chuckle through her sniffs. "I think I freaked Albert out. He didn't know what to do with me." She took a deep breath. "Anyway, I finally shook off the shock and did what every good 'Burg' woman does any time she receives unbelievable news."

"You picked up the phone." Stephanie said very matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I called Connie," she laughed. "She and Lula had already heard and filled me in on all the details of where Carlos thought you were being held. They were already working on this idea of how to help, so I told Albert I was going to help my sister and he could leave the girls with mom if he needed to. I picked up my purse took the car and…here I am!"

Stephanie looked across the bed to see that Bobby had stepped up and put his arms lovingly around Adria. Cindy was standing next to her. "You too?"

"Guilty," Adria replied and Cindy nodded. They both had broad smiles on their faces.

Ranger looked down at his watch. Connie got the message. "Listen, Steph. We gotta go. Vinnie's already called me three times this morning wanting to know when the hell I'm comin' in today." She leaned over and planted a kiss on Stephanie's cheek. "I told the jerk I would be in tomorrow after I helped RangeMan find you. He thinks I've lost my mind 'cause he still thinks your dead," she said with a wicked grin. "Personally I think it would be fun to have you come back and haunt him for a few days. You could do the whole ghost of Vinnie's past, present, and future thing and really mess with his head."

"I'd pay money to see that!" Lula said. "You could put on one of them long, white dresses and carry a duck. He'd shit his pants before you even said one word."

"Yeah," Connie dreamily sighed. "Too bad this will probably hit the evening news in Trenton and ruin all our potential fun."

Stephanie laughed through the tears that had picked up again at the thought of them all leaving. She and Val had never been overtly affectionate toward each other, but the emotion sitting between them was powerful enough to overcome the awkwardness of a hug. So she found herself reaching out and pulling her sister in with ease. "Thanks Val. I can't believe you're here. There's so much I want to ask you."

"You rest and get better, Steph. Carlos can fill you in on all the details. We'll talk when you come home. I have to get back to Albert and my girls."

"Give them a kiss for me." Stephanie released Val and reached for Connie, and then Lula. As her sister and her two good friends stepped away from the bed, Cindy and Adria stepped forward to give Stephanie hugs and wishes for a speedy recovery. Cindy reminded her that she would be staying in Miami and to give her a call if she needed a visit, or if she needed to go shopping.

Ranger softly stroked her back in comfort as the ladies from Trenton vacated the room and headed to the plane that would take them home.

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	25. Chapter 25

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's Notes: I really thought this would be the last chapter. Alas, the characters took control and decided a few things needed yet to be done. I don't want to be one of those writer's who can't let a story go and allows the story to go on forever when it should really end, so the next chapter should be it. I laid my foot down even though Morelli keeps begging me with endless emails. He can't talk to me like he did in the last story, because I left him in Trenton and here we are in Miami and I refuse to give him my cell phone number.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

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Chapter 25

It took a few minutes for Stephanie to pull herself together after the girls left. She had been completely thrown by their presence and still had so many questions about what they had been doing in Miami. Ranger promised he would explain everything and answer all of her questions later.

Hector had finished setting up the equipment and was ready to begin recording her account of her kidnapping.

As they all took their places, Ranger remained out of the view of the camera, but close enough to hold her hand or otherwise support her when necessary. Jack would be conducting the interview and Bobby would observe from the sidelines.

Jack began by asking Stephanie to recall everything she remembered about the day she was kidnapped. Her memory was spotty at best after she left Megan sitting on the bench in the mall with her injured foot, but she followed by recalling as much detail as she could about the trip from Trenton to Miami. She knew that two men were with her the entire time, but only the one spoke. She found out later from Colleen that Jake Murdock had been one of them, and the other was an unnamed employee of Grayson Murdock, whom she was informed she would not see again. She thought that she might be able to identify the distinctive voice if she ever heard it again.

Stephanie's detail of her time at the beach house was much more complete because, by then, the effect of the drugs had worn off, and she was no longer missing any time.

"I had only been at the house for a short while before Grayson came into the room and introduced himself." She focused her attention strictly on Jack. "He called me a 'guest' in his home. He tried to convince me that Marcus had been falsely accused of raping and hurting Emily Barnes…that she led him on and then cried rape to avoid getting into trouble with her brother." She paused for a moment. "That's why he had Jake kidnap me and bring me to Miami. He said he was going to use me as a negotiating chip with Ranger. He wanted Ranger to force Tony and Emily to drop the charges against his nephew. He told me I would be set free in exchange for the charges being dropped."

She told them about Jake cutting off the cast and admitting to her that he killed the girl at Bugsy's as a message to someone.

Bobby threw a look toward Ranger. He clearly thought it was time for Stephanie to know about Megan.

Stephanie continued, and when she mentioned finding the University ID card belonging to Chelsea Grant and where she had hidden it, Ranger stopped the recording. He called Tank, who was still at the beach house, and had him locate it so it could be used as evidence in the related kidnapping and murder case against Jake Murdock. Tank found the card still buried at the back of the bathroom drawer just as Stephanie had said.

With that little detail taken care of, Ranger signaled to Hector to restart the recording and for Stephanie to continue her statement.

"Stephanie," Jack prompted. "Tell us about that first night at Grayson Murdock's house."

Stephanie told of the dinner and the newspaper articles. When she got to the part about seeing the pictures of Ranger at the funeral, she became very emotional, and they paused the recording.

Ranger was at her side in an instant. "Babe, if you can't finish this now, it's okay. We can do this later."

Stephanie adamantly replied, "No Carlos, I want to do this now. I'm good. I just want to get this over with."

They started the recording once again and Stephanie continued. She relayed the headache episode she had experienced and the fact that Colleen had her medication and injected her with it. "Colleen told me that Jake had an informant giving him details about my health and security situation, but that she didn't know who it was. They knew the name of my medication and had some available in case I needed it."

"Stephanie, did you ever feel threatened while you were at Grayson Murdock's home?"

"Yes," she answered tentatively. "At lunch on Sunday. Grayson always insisted that I take my meals with him. We got into a discussion and I questioned his relationship with Colleen. She's just a child, and the man is…was nearly seventy. She came from an abusive home with a drug addicted mother and a sexually abusive father. He took advantage of that with her, and I told him I thought that was wrong. He didn't care for my criticism. He said if I did anything to jeopardize the negotiations, for Marcus' case, he would allow Jake or Marcus to…" Stephanie found it hard to finish the sentence.

"What did he say they would be allowed to do, Stephanie?" Jack prompted.

"He said that if I took advantage of his 'generous hospitality' he would no longer protect me from anything that Jake or Marcus wished to do to me."

"Did he say what that would entail?"

"No," She whispered. He just said that they could be very creative when inspired." Her voice got a little stronger. "But later that day Colleen told me that Marcus was the one who raped her and made her pregnant. She said that he was furious with me and had ranted on and on about getting even with me for causing his arrest. She said that that when he…when he…was inside her, he called…my name in anger." She hurried on before the emotions got the best of her again. "I also knew what Jake Murdock had done to that poor girl at Bugsy's, and how he had used Chelsea Grant. He also told me about what he had done to his informant in Trenton." She sighed. "I knew what both of those men were capable of doing and so did Grayson Murdock. The threat was implied and very real."

Stephanie caught movement from the corner of her eye and swiveled her head in the direction of the bedroom door. Without a second thought to the integrity of the recording procedure, Stephanie burst into a huge smile.

"Lester!" she exclaimed happily. "How long have you been standing there?"

Lester rushed to her bedside and pulled her into a hug. He hadn't realized how difficult it had been to breathe these last few days until the air in his lungs exhaled her name with such comforting ease that he found himself flooded with emotion. "Beautiful," he murmured in a reverent whisper. "Damn it's good to have you back." He sat back, slid his hands to her shoulders and looked her in the eyes, as his own twinkled with a hint of moisture. "Are you okay?"

"Much better now." She sniffed, and then tried to lighten the mood with a quip about her own endless stream of tears. "Damn you guys for making me cry all morning."

"Yeah? Well, I'll take the happy tears over the sad ones from last week anytime, Beautiful."

Stephanie pulled Lester into another hug, "Oh god, Lester, it's so good to be back." She sat back once more. "How's Megan?" she asked, pulling a tissue from the box on the side table. "I saw Adria a few minutes ago. It's good to see that she and Bobby are still together. What about you and Megan?"

Lester shot a glance over to Ranger. Ranger returned an almost imperceptible shake indicating that they hadn't told her yet. "Megan's fine…we're fine," he hedged.

"Liar," she gently accused. "I know Megan was the one who gave Jake Murdock the information about me. I know she had something to do with him getting to me at the mall."

Lester was surprised. "How did you…"

"Jake told me." Stephanie took both his hands in hers. "Listen, Lester. You aren't upset with Megan for what she was forced to do, are you?"

"We're working on it," he admitted. "It hasn't been easy." Lester glanced over at Hector, who had developed a tight and bitter expression on his face.

Stephanie caught that exchange and looked at Ranger. "Nobody should blame Megan for what happened, Carlos. Did she tell you what he did?"

Ranger slid closer to Stephanie and put an arm around her waist. "She told us, Babe. We know that he threatened to hurt her sister and nieces, and we have the pictures he sent to convince her to give him the information he wanted. We know about Anna Burke, too."

"Did she tell you that he only resorted to threatening her family when she didn't give in to his first attempts at getting her to cooperate?"

Stephanie could tell by the look on both of their faces that they didn't have a clue as to what she was talking about. She wondered why Megan had withheld that information and briefly considered whether she should respect her privacy about it, but then she looked at Hector again. She had seen the anger bloom on his face the minute Megan's name was mentioned, and she knew that his over protectiveness wasn't allowing for any reprieve where Megan was concerned. Stephanie was suddenly greatly disturbed at the thought that so much tragedy had come from all of this, and she was determined to prevent one more casualty of the sick mess.

"Lester," Stephanie said resolutely. "Go sit in that chair over there." She pointed to an upholstered chair near the side of the bed.

Lester eyed her suspiciously, but reluctantly got up and moved to the chair. "Beautiful, what are you doing?"

Stephanie pinned him with an authoritative look. "Just listen," she ordered. Her whole demeanor changed. She gathered up all the loose wet tissues and balled them into a wad, then stuffed them under the pillow behind her. She put her hands to her face checking for wetness and removing any trace of emotion. When she was ready, she pointed to the camera. "Hector, turn that thing back on." She took a deep breath and looked at Jack. "Ask me about last night."

Jack nodded. When Hector gave him the signal that the camera was running, he proceded. "Stephanie, what can you tell us about what happened last night?"

Stephanie took a final calming breath and started speaking. "I decided I needed to try to escape and refused to have dinner with Grayson to give me time to work on a plan. He allowed Colleen to bring me a tray…a salad and some dessert. I had been able to pick the lock on the French doors with a wire I had picked up on the beach earlier that afternoon, but there was a sliding bolt securing it from the outside and I couldn't escape. At some point I must have fallen asleep. I woke up to find Jake Murdock leaning over me in the bed, holding my arms. I tried to fight him, but he was too strong, and it only made him angrier and more determined. Jake Murdock has a fondness for sharp objects. He pulled a knife from his pocket and ran it lightly from my neck to my chest, increasing the pressure as he went." Stephanie's eyes drifted off to the side, and her hand absently touched the wound on her chest. "He told me that women were easy to manipulate with the right motivation, and that he was able to get my nurse from the hospital, Megan to give him the information he wanted about me, but only after his first attempt failed." She turned her face slightly toward Lester. "He said that he…raped her and…cut her…with the very same knife he was holding at my chest. He laughed and called her 'foolishly noble' when she still refused to cooperate. Megan was his best chance at getting the information about me that he wanted, so he admitted that he couldn't afford to kill her. Then he bragged about being prepared with a backup plan to get her to talk by threatening her family." She tightened her face in incredulity. "He was so arrogant and proud of his success."

The room had gone deathly quiet. Tears welled in Stephanie's eyes. She turned full face to Lester and whispered. "Don't you see, Lester? It's all my fault. Everyone who was threatened, or injured…or killed, was done so because of me. Because Grayson Murdock wanted to get to _me_! Megan had no choice. She was trying to protect her family. I would have done the same thing. After Justin died, she just couldn't afford to lose anyone else in her life."

Jack leaned forward in his chair and tried to take her hand. "Stephanie, you can't…."

Stephanie swung her focus to Jack. She pulled back her hand and sharply cut him off. "I can't what Jack? I can't blame myself? I can't believe that I'm responsible for all the death and destruction that has surrounded me for the past couple of weeks? Anna Burke was raped, mutilated, and her body was callously stuffed into a bathroom supply closet…because of _me_! Chelsea Grant was kidnapped, raped repeatedly, and killed…because of _me_! Megan was raped and cut with a knife…trying to protect _me_!" With the listing of each victim, Stephanie pointed to herself, and her voice grew in volume and intensity. "Colleen was raped, got pregnant, and has now most likely lost that baby…because Marcus Sandor was angry at _me_!" Stephanie looked at Lester and saw the fresh hurt and concern in his face that her revealing truth about Megan had caused. Her unyielding self-reproach faltered. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her middle. She felt undeserving of anyone's attempts to comfort her. The overwhelming inventory of victims came barreling down on her conscience. "God! I sit here all warm and safe in my bed, with just a few cuts and bruises and I…I…" she turned to Ranger with panicked, imploring eyes. "I can't do this anymore…I'm going to be sick."

Stephanie scrambled toward the side of the bed, but Ranger quickly picked her up and carried her into the bathroom just in time. She sat on the floor in his arms leaning over the toilet, sobbing and heaving up the breakfast Mary had prepared. When she settled, Ranger cleaned and cooled her with a damp washcloth.

After a few minutes, Bobby softly knocked on the open door and stepped into the bathroom. He crouched down next to the exhausted couple on the floor. "Steph, after what you've been through, you can't afford to become dehydrated. I'm going to inject you with something for the nausea, and both Jack and I agreed it would be best to pre-empt another headache with an injection of the pain medication we've been giving you."

He waited for her acknowledgement. She wordlessly nodded, so he swiped an alcohol swab across her upper arm and quickly made the two injections. He looked at Ranger. "This will probably knock her out. She really needs to get some sleep. We're going to clear outta here and let you two get some rest. I'm going to the airport with Adria and the others, to make sure they get off the ground okay, but I'll be back, and Jack is still here. Call me if you need me."

Ranger nodded and thanked Bobby. He sat with Stephanie on the floor a few minutes longer and then helped her up to the sink. She rinsed out her mouth and washed her face. Ranger carried her back into the bedroom and they wordlessly sunk into the bed for a long overdue rest.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

The next time Stephanie opened her eyes, it was late afternoon. Ranger was still with her. He was awake, and he was gently, but absently rubbing his fingers along her arm that was lying across his chest. He was staring out the window, but he was seeing something much further away and more serious than the skyline of downtown Miami.

Stephanie transiently studied him while he remained unaware that she was awake. Stark memories of the emotional breakdown came flooding back, and she immediately felt guilty. She could see the worry on his face. He had been through so much in the last few weeks because of her. She may have called him Batman, but she knew he was human and the events had taken their toll. She slowly lifted her hand and ran a finger along his cheek.

"I'm not leaving you again, you know?"

Ranger was caught unaware and jerked slightly at her movement. His face immediately softened in response. "I'm sorry, Babe, what did you say?"

"I left you when I lost my memory. I lost us for a while, but I'm stronger now and I won't do that again." She struggled to sit up, and he helped by scooting himself against the headboard and pulling her to a sitting position in his arms. "I'm sorry about freaking out earlier. It's just that…when I was telling the story, everything caught up with me and the truth was staring me in the face…in spades. I'm afraid I didn't handle it very well."

Ranger hugged her more tightly in response. "You scared the shit out of Hector, Babe."

"That wasn't my intent. I just didn't want Megan to take the blame for something she had very little control over and very few resources to handle. What about Lester? I dropped a pretty big bomb on him. Do you think he's okay?"

"He and Megan had already worked some things out before he came down here. He didn't know about the rape." He pulled Stephanie's face to his with his free hand. "Let Lester worry about his relationship with Megan. You need to…" Ranger hesitated, looking for the right words. "You need to take care of _you_ first. Hector isn't the only one you scared, Babe." He leaned in and placed a gentle but telling kiss on her lips. "Dios, I love you so much." He leaned away with great concern written all over his face. "And I'm so afraid that you actually believe those words you said about everything being your fault."

"How could I not believe that? It's true. All of those girls _were_ hurt because of me."

Ranger could feel her body tense up as she spoke and he didn't want to her to get upset again. He could argue her reasoning, but he felt it would be best to let it go for now. "Babe, I want you to talk to Jack. He's here for you. I think he can help you put some things into perspective and see the situation differently."

"I will, Carlos. I know I can't do this by myself, but I don't know how he can change the truth."

Ranger's cell phone rang, but he didn't answer it right away. He held Stephanie's gaze a few moments longer in contemplation and then slowly lifted the device to his ear.

"Yo."

Stephanie could here a female voice on the other end, but couldn't tell who it was.

"We're awake. Come on up. Sounds wonderful. Gracias, Mary." Ranger closed the phone and asked. "Are you hungry? Mary's made dinner for us."

"Dinner would be wonderful," she smiled. "But can I get out of this bed for a while?"

"How 'bout I carry you into the living room? We can eat in there."

Stephanie nodded enthusiastically and they moved to the living room. Within minutes Mary was industriously puttering around the kitchen pulling out plates and silverware to serve dinner on. There was another knock on the door and Ranger got up to answer it. Stephanie couldn't see the door from where she was sitting, but the voice was unmistakable, and soon Tank's massive form was hovering over the couch. He leaned down and gave Stephanie a kiss on her cheek.

"You look a damn sight better than you did this morning, Bomber," he said in good humor.

"I feel a damn sight better too," she quipped back. "But you look like hell."

Yeah? Thanks a lot!" he said with a slight chuckle, rubbing his hands over the rough texture of a face long overdue for a shave. "I spent the whole damn night looking for this curly headed friend of mine and the whole damn morning dealing with the local cops _and_ the feds. On top of that, the boss here ships my woman back to Trenton without a proper goodbye."

Ranger resumed his place next to Stephanie on the couch and Tank took a seat in the chair across from them.

"I'm sorry, Tank, maybe Lula should have stayed," Stephanie said.

"Nah, it's okay. We're gonna be pretty busy for the next couple of days down here and Lula doesn't do so good with neglect. It's better she went home. I'll make it up to her later." He said that last line with a grin on his face that hinted he knew exactly how to do just that.

Ranger interrupted their little reunion. "What have you got?"

Tank sat forward in his chair. "Right now, MDPD has Murdock in their custody since they won the race. Feds showed up after Morelli called in the information we left with him. They're mighty anxious to get their hands on him, but they're gonna have to work that out with a judge, because the list of charges against him is as long as your arm and covers four states. We turned over most of the evidence we collected to the locals."

"The gun?"

"Colleen said that Stephanie never touched the gun, so Lester turned it over as evidence to support the claim that Colleen is the one who shot Sandor."

"What about Sandor?"

It was a cryptic question, but Tank knew exactly what Ranger was asking. "Taken care of," he replied.

It seemed to Stephanie that there was more unsaid with their intently locked eyes, but she couldn't guess what.

Ranger nodded that they both understood and moved on to his next question. "Murdock?"

"The bastard was still spilling all that shit to the local cops about Bomber attacking him with a shoe and kicking him in the groin. She's expected the day after tomorrow at ten hundred. I called Morgan. He'll meet us here tomorrow pm to go over a few things."

It was obvious that Ranger and Tank had done this a million times and had developed a sort of verbal shorthand that proved efficient at sharing details with each other, while at the same time not giving away too much information to the casual observer. The conversation was moving a little too quickly for Stephanie. She got hung up trying to make sense of the bit about Morelli and fell behind after that. She finally made her frustration known to the two clueless men. "What the hell does all that mean? What does Joe have to do with this? What's going on the day after tomorrow? And who the hell is Morgan?" Her volume rose with her agitation. She started her rant by looking at Tank for answers, but the blank face fell into place and she switched to Ranger.

Ranger actually felt bad about her unintentional exclusion. The way he and Tank conversed was second nature to him and he hadn't taken into consideration that she would not be able to follow along. "I'm sorry, Babe. Morelli was very helpful back in Trenton when we discovered that you were not dead. He was able to get the DNA testing done without making the request public knowledge. Once he had the identification of the real victim in your car, he agreed to keep it under wraps for just over twenty-four hours. Long enough to give us a head start on finding you before the FBI was notified." Ranger ran a single finger down the side of her cheek." He did that as a favor to me for you. I owe him for that."

Stephanie produced a sad smile on her face. "He's really a good guy."

"He's a good cop and a good friend who still cares about you," Ranger readily admitted.

"Would it be okay, if I called him later?"

"I think he would like that," he said.

Stephanie got curious again. "What's all the stuff Tank said about the gun, and Marcus Sandor, and about tomorrow pm?"

"One of the reasons I left Tank and Lester behind at the beach house was to make sure that you weren't falsely implicated in any of the deaths that took place last night. When we came on the scene, we had dead bodies, an injured and somewhat hysterical young woman, and we knew you had been there, but we didn't have many answers. We didn't want to take any chances with shoddy police work screwing up the evidence. After I found you and learned more about what had gone on, I called Tank." Ranger hesitated before he continued. "Babe, because Sandor is dead, and it was Colleen that shot him, there's no reason for you to give a statement about the attempted rape if you don't want to. Emily Barnes' case will be over, and it will make no difference in the case against Murdock. I asked Tank to clean up the scene. Sandor's pants were still open when we arrived. By the time the cops got there, they weren't." Ranger stopped.

Stephanie's eyes had lost their focus. She was processing what Ranger was saying, and was already contemplating how she felt about it. "You had Tank adjust the evidence to give me options," she correctly interpreted.

"Yes."

"I understand."

"It's your decision, Babe. We'll stand behind anything you decide."

A single tear fell from her left eye. That's all she would allow. She swiped at it before it ran beyond her cheek. "If it's alright with you, I think I could talk about it with Jack, but I don't want to talk about it with anyone else. Not the police, not my friends, not my family, no one else," she said with some finality.

Ranger pulled her close to his chest and kissed her on top of her head. "Done," he promised.

Stephanie turned her head toward Tank. "Thank you."

Tank nodded. Nothing more needed to be said. Stephanie knew that those RangeMen who knew, would never mention the private details she had shared in the shed.

Ranger finished answering her questions. "They need you to come to the Miami-Dade PD headquarters the day after tomorrow to file formal charges against Jake Murdock. They are already holding him on a slew of other charges, but yours can only strengthen the case against him. Tank set an appointment for ten o'clock Wednesday morning. Jonathon Morgan is one of my attorneys. He's going to meet us here tomorrow afternoon to give you some legal advice and then he will accompany you to the station the next day, to give your statement."

Stephanie looked upset. "Won't you be there too?"

"I'll go downtown with you and I'll be there the whole time. But they won't let me stay with you while you give your statement. Because we were part of the rescue, we have to give our own statements."

"Oh," was all she said as she nodded.

Tank stood up to leave.

"Tank, do you know how Colleen is doing?"

Tank paused to answer Stephanie's question. "Tony left the hospital a couple of hours ago. She lost the baby. They're keeping her for a couple of days."

Stephanie nodded sadly and turned to Ranger. "I want to see her."

"Babe…"

"No, Carlos! She's alone. She has no one. She helped me. I want to see her!"

Ranger looked at Tank. "Have they filed any charges against her for the kidnapping?"

Tank shook his head "Not yet. FBI didn't seem too interested in pursuing it. They want Murdock. She'll probably get immunity for turning evidence."

"Babe, I'll call Morgan in the morning. If he thinks it's okay, we'll go."

Stephanie gave him a hard look. "Make it okay, Carlos. I'm going to see her."

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	26. Chapter 26

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

Author's Note: Okay, I know I told you that this would be the last chapter, but it ended up being over 9000 words. So now it's the next to the last chapter. So many of you lamented that this story would be ending today, so you got you're Mother's Day wish and Tuesday will see the final post. A lot happens in this chapter, so let me know what you like.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. My favorite kitchen magnet says it all - "Motherhood is an heir raising experience." I hope all your heirs treat you well and give you a perfect day!

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

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Chapter 26

Bright and early Tuesday morning Stephanie found herself in the unusual situation of being tired of sleeping. She felt as if she had done nothing else since early the morning before. After a lengthy make-out session that did nothing but exacerbate her sexual frustration…and his, she pushed Ranger out of the bed, insisting that she didn't want to be the reason for his muscles to atrophy. He reluctantly agreed and with a heavy sigh, he headed down to the gym for a short workout.

Stephanie moved to the edge of the bed and gingerly put her feet to the floor. They were more stiff than anything else, so she decided a nice long hot bath would help, and may relieve some of the bruising aches on the other parts of her body as well. She took her time getting to the bathroom, moving slowly and hissing at the pressure on a few of the deeper cuts, but once she was in the water, she felt much better. The warm water soothed her from head to toe and the quiet respite and billowing steam loosened her mind as well. She decided to make a mental list of all the things she needed to do. At the top, was finishing her recorded statement. She wanted to get that out of the way and felt confident that since she had made the decision to not include the attempted rape by Sandor, she could finish the job without breaking down again.

She was still adding items to her list when Ranger returned from his workout. He hadn't showered downstairs, so as he stepped into the bathroom he was in the middle of pulling off his sweat soaked shirt. It wasn't until he had completely pulled it over his head that he caught sight of Stephanie in the bathtub.

He froze at the image she portrayed. Stephanie was reclined against the back curve of the tub. Her hair was chaotically gathered and pinned up on her head, and several strands had escaped. Moistened by the rising steam, the errant locks had sprung up into loose curls framing her beautiful face, giving her the appearance of a Greek goddess in an erotic classical painting. The upswept draw of her hair lengthened her neck, and Ranger was flooded with a desire to kiss every inch of it from the back of her ear to the sensuous curve of her shoulder just before it disappeared into the steaming water.

Her eyes locked on his. He lowered himself and kneeled in front of the tub, lifting a finger to the side of her face. "Beautiful." The word was not spoken to Stephanie, but rather to the room as if it had been an inadvertent release of a suddenly overwhelming, internal realization.

Intended or not, it was just what Stephanie needed to hear. She gave him a warm smile and lifted her hand from the water to caress the one still holding her face. "Thank you." She leaned toward his face stopping just short of his lips. "You know," she seductively coaxed. "There's plenty of room for two in here."

Ranger was tempted, but he dug down deep and managed to escape the enticement with just a slow kiss. "I'll shower. You stay here and enjoy the bath." He rose and finished undressing. "I've got a call into Jonathon Morgan about visiting Colleen. He's in court this morning. I won't hear back from him until after lunch. I also called Rachel after my workout. She thinks it would be better if I told Julie about you in person. She said Julie's been pretty upset since they brought her back to Miami after the funeral."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"I think that it would be less of a shock if I went there and talked to her first."

"You're probably right. The last thing she needs is to see a ghost standing at her front door. Do you think we could have dinner with her tonight?"

Ranger stepped into the shower and started the water. "I'll see how it goes and talk to Rachel about it when I get there. I've asked Hector and Jack to hang out here this morning while I'm gone. Are you okay with that?"

Talking to Jack was number two on Stephanie's list. "Sure, I can use the time with Jack. I really need to talk to him." She realized that Ranger was now standing under the shower and spoke a little louder over her shoulder so he could hear. "I can have Hector finish recording my statement too."

Ranger turned off the shower and opened the glass door. Water was running in rivulets down his face and chest. "Do you feel okay about doing that without me here? Yesterday was pretty rough on you."

Stephanie shrugged off his apprehension with a light response. "I've told you pretty much everything that happened already. I could get it done this morning while you're gone and have it out of the way so we're free to see Colleen and do something with Julie later."

Ranger hesitated a moment, weighing the concerns he had with the practicality of her reasoning. "I'll set it up," he conceded. "But I want Bobby and Jack with you." He stepped back into the shower. He had no sooner closed the door than it opened again and he added, "And Santos."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Ranger dressed casually for his visit with Julie and left Stephanie in the capable hands of some of his most trusted men.

It didn't take long for Hector to reset the recording equipment and for Stephanie to succinctly finish her statement. When it was all done, Bobby gave her a kiss on the cheek for a job well done and left to finish some reports of his own about the night in question. Stephanie sat back and let out an exaggerated sigh of relief feeling proud that she had done it with only a modicum of emotional instability.

Lester gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You did great, Beautiful." The information you'll be giving the authorities will help to put Murdock away for a long time."

Although everything he said was supportive and perfectly normal, Stephanie had noticed all morning that Lester was acting a little strange and uncomfortable around her. She was sure that it was because of the information about Megan that she had unloaded on him yesterday. It became more obvious and pronounced as the morning wore on, and she felt the need to try and fix it. He was one of her best friends, and she hated the thought of a rift between them causing a strain on their special relationship. As Hector was packing up equipment and coiling electrical cords, she pulled Lester into the small bedroom Ranger used as an office.

"Lester, I'm sorry I was the one who told you about the awful things that happened to Megan."

"Beautiful, I'm not mad at you. It's just…I thought Megan and I had come to an understanding about what she could tell me." He turned away from Stephanie and started to pace. "The other night it took every ounce of self-control I possess, _and_ Bobby and Tank's physical restraint, not to tear that son-of-a-bitch into a million pieces for what he had done to you and Megan. And that was before I knew about the…"

"The rape?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "When I noticed the cut on her breast, she told me it was from an accident with a piece of equipment at the hospital. It had happened before we started dating, so I didn't have any reason to doubt her. But the fact that Megan didn't tell me about it when she opened up about the rest of it, makes me question what it is we really have together."

"You and Megan are the only ones who can answer that, Lester, and you need to talk to her about it. I can't speak for Megan, but I can tell you that even though Marcus Sandor tried to rape me and thankfully was stopped, it was still very difficult for me to admit to it and talk about it with Carlos. I don't know how to explain it, but I felt a certain amount of guilt about the attack. I know that it sounds illogical, and irrational, but a part of me felt like I'd done something to provoke him. I mean, look at the way I was dressed when I ran that distraction at the bar to catch him the first time."

"That's ridiculous, Steph. You were doing your job!"

She put a comforting hand on his arm. "Part of me knows that, but part of me still listens to that little voice in the back of my head. The one that sounds like my eighth grade teacher Sister Mary Grace, telling all the girls that it only encourages sinful behavior to wear skirts that end above the knee, and only girls with loose morals lead boys on by wearing revealing clothes, and those girls will get what they deserve."

Lester chuckled. "Did that shit actually work on you?"

"Hell no!" she good-naturedly scoffed. "Mary Lou and I used to roll them up every chance we got!" She became serious once more. "My point is, Lester, don't judge Megan too harshly. What Jake Murdock did was…frightening, humiliating, and demeaning for her. When she finds out that you know about it…I can't even imagine how that will make her feel."

"What am I supposed to say to her?" Lester sounded so defeated and lost.

"Do you love her?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation to his response.

"Start with that," she said. "The rest will come. You've always been there for me, and you've always said the right things. I know you will do the same for Megan. Just keep in mind that she didn't keep it from you because of a lack of faith in you. It's because she's struggling with her own self-worth and questions her value to you."

Lester gave her a long, thankful hug. "You're the best, Beautiful."

"You're pretty special too," she replied. "And Megan knows that." They separated from their embrace and Stephanie stepped back. "Have you spoken to her since you've been down here?"

"Yeah, I call her everyday."

"That's good. I can't wait to see her when we get back to Trenton."

"You won't have to wait that long, Beautiful."

"What do you mean?"

"Megan is coming down this afternoon on the company jet. The FBI needs her to identify Jake Murdock in a police line-up and give her statement."

Lester's cell rang and he looked at the caller ID. From the radiant smile that engulfed his face, Stephanie figured it had to be Megan. They were going to be okay.

Lester excused himself and left the apartment for some privacy.

Stephanie remained in Ranger's office a few minutes more; thinking about what she would say when she saw Megan again. Having also been on the receiving end of Jake's knife, she understood the terror and helplessness that Megan must have experienced. The fact that she didn't cave under the threat of personal injury made her a hero of Wonder Woman proportions in Stephanie's eyes.

As she stepped out of the office, Stephanie caught sight of an intimate exchange between Jack and Hector. She knew they valued their privacy, so she silently retreated back into the doorway and dropped her gaze to the floor with every intention of remaining that way until they were finished. Curiosity got the better of her, however, and she couldn't help but play the voyeur. She lifted her gaze toward the enchanting couple. Jack was slightly taller than Hector and held him in an embrace that put his mouth at Hector's ear. She could see Jack's lips reciting words in a tender whisper; a lover's gesture not unlike one she, herself, had received countless times from Ranger. Hector's hands rested on Jack's hips and his face was pressed against his cheek, and though she couldn't see his eyes, Stephanie imagined they were closed, as hers would always be when she absorbed the sheer euphoria caused by Ranger's very private, romantic confessions. Stephanie was stunned by the beauty of the moment. Two very important people in her life had seemingly found total completeness and utter contentment in each other's arms. As they stepped apart, Hector reached a hand to Jack's face and kissed him gently on the lips.

Hector moved most of the recording equipment to the side of the room to be picked up later. He pocketed a small disk and found Stephanie standing next to one of the large windows in the living room. He clasped her hand and entwined her fingers with his with a charming smile on his face. "Perfecto eras, Chica. (You were perfect, little girl) I go and make copies for el jefe." He too then, placed a kiss on her cheek and left the room.

"Stephanie, why don't we sit down?" Everyone had conveniently left Jack and Stephanie with the opportunity to talk, and Jack was wasting no time.

Stephanie took a seat on the couch, and Jack sat across from her in the wingback chair. She grabbed a small decorative pillow and laid it on her lap crossing her arms over the top to hold it in place.

"You know me well enough by now to be able to pinpoint my biggest concern for you. What do you think that is?"

Stephanie looked him with a pained expression. "I imagine it's probably the same concern that Carlos has," she said. "And that would be my emotional declaration yesterday that I feel responsible for a lot of this."

"Do you really believe that?" He looked skeptical.

"I believe what I said yesterday. You can't deny that Jake Murdock's ultimate goal was to get his hands on me. He did all of those terrible things to accomplish that. And the damage didn't stop there. A lot of lives have suffered because of it."

"How?"

"Colleen's baby is dead. Megan's relationship with Lester is in danger. Lester's relationship with Hector is strained." She paused. "I saw the looks that ran between them earlier." She looked at Jack for confirmation of her suspicions, but he remained frustratingly non-committal, so she continued, "And I've seen what it's done to Ranger. I'm afraid of what it's done to him…to us. He'll live in constant fear for my safety. He'll have an ulcer before he's thirty-five!"

Jack leaned forward in his chair. "Stephanie, you forget that Lester and Megan wouldn't even have a relationship if it weren't for you to begin with. Neither would Hector and I, or Bobby and Adria, or Lula and Tank for that matter. It's true; you seem to have an amazing capacity to be a catalyst for some extraordinary events, but you are so quick to forget that a lot of those events are wonderful things."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "An amazing capacity to be a catalyst for extraordinary events?" she chuckled as she repeated it. "Come on, Jack, that's just an expensive way of saying I'm a disaster to be around. That's nothing new, I've been told that before for free."

"By a friend?"

Stephanie looked down to finger the edge of the pillow on her lap. "By someone who I thought loved me."

"Maybe they did, and they just couldn't see what I see. What Carlos sees. What Hector and Lester see. And what all of those women who came down here to help you see."

Stephanie didn't respond.

"Stephanie, wouldn't you say that Emily is ultimately responsible for all that's happened?

Her head snapped up. "God no! She is such an innocent in all of this. She didn't ask to be raped and beaten."

"Did you ask to be kidnapped?"

"No."

"Did you ask to be used as a pawn in Grayson Murdock's grand plan?"

"No."

"Did you ask Marcus Sandor to hurt you the other night?"

"I...I don't know."

"Stephanie, did you push Colleen down those stairs?"

"No!" Jack's provocative, rapid fire questions were irritating, and she snapped at him.

"Then why are you any more guilty than Emily? You simply tried to help. And you did. The rest of the tragedy is on Grayson and Jake Murdock and Marcus Sandor." Jack sighed in exasperation. "Why is it that you find it so easy to forgive everyone else...and so hard to forgive yourself?"

Again Stephanie didn't respond. She had once again lowered her head and Jack could see her shoulders shaking from a silent emotional release. He got up from his chair and sat on the sturdy coffee table in front of her. He leaned close and lowered his voice to a soothing, more intimate tone.

"Stephanie, when I was with you early yesterday in that shed at the house on the beach, and Ranger told you about Colleen, I saw the expression on your face. Why were you so upset about the fate of one of your kidnappers?"

"Colleen wasn't one of my kidnappers. She's a child and was just as much a prisoner and victim in that house as I was."

Jack smiled. "Did you hear what you just called yourself?"

Stephanie kept her head down.

"You said you were a victim." He took her hands. "Stephanie, look at me. You. Were. A. Victim."

"I don't like being a victim."

"I know. I think that's why you insist on trying to convince yourself and everyone else that you're responsible for everything. It protects you from thinking of yourself as a victim. You have to stop treating yourself as the criminal here and face the fact that you were terribly wronged by those men. You'll never fully heal until you do."

"Do you think that it's wrong for me to go visit Colleen?"

"No, quite the opposite. I think that seeing Colleen would be good for you_ and_ her. Spending some time with another victim, sharing your feelings and experiences, could be very cathartic for you both. If Carlos can arrange it, I think you should go."

Stephanie felt much better about things with the support she received from Jack. They continued to talk for another hour, and they were just finishing up when Ranger returned from his visit with Julie. He was at her side immediately to claim a kiss. She could feel the angst rolling off of him in waves, and the message that the kiss was not enough was loud and clear.

Jack must have gotten the same message. He mumbled something that Stephanie didn't quite comprehend because she was still focused on trying to figure out what was going on with Ranger. Before she knew it, Jack was gone and Ranger had her in his arms once more.

"Carlos, what's going on? You're upset. What is it?"

Ranger sat down on the couch taking her with him, landing her in his lap. "I'm better now. I just needed to be back here with you."

It wasn't until that moment that Stephanie fully understood the extent to which Ranger was affected by the fears he had faced in the past week. This extreme anxiety at their short separation was something she had never seen from him before. She had witnessed his unease and concern since their reunion, but he was literally shaking when he returned moments ago. She put her hands on both sides of his face and met his eyes with an intense gaze. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere without you. You know that don't you?"

"Dios, Babe I haven't felt panic like that since…since I saw your car explode."

"I know, Carlos, but I wasn't in that car and I am here with you now." She leaned down to his mouth and whispered against his lips. "Make love to me." She encouraged the desired response from him by taking short teasing nips at his lips.

Ranger acquiesced and took her mouth in return. He deepened the kiss and groaned in anticipation of going much further.

The vibrations from his throat spurred Stephanie to slide her hands around his neck and pull him closer and deeper.

Ranger grabbed the hem of her shirt and lifted it from her body, following immediately with the lacy black bra he discovered underneath. The long imprisoned sensations that were now forcefully building between them broke free and ruled over all caution. As their tongues battled for dominance, he pulled her close; pressing her breasts tightly against his chest. He ran one hand down her back and under the waistband of her pants. The touch of her soft pale skin against his eager hands was another sweet reminder of the gift that had been returned to him. An unbridled ecstasy rushed through his veins. In a manic passion, Ranger untied the string on her pants and lifted her slightly to tug them over her bottom and then down, until they were free from her legs completely. His mouth moved from hers and trailed hungry kisses down the side of her neck working his way to the delicate skin of her throat.

Stephanie took the opportunity to pull his shirt from the waist of his pants. Ranger assisted by pulling it over his head, so she greedily began unbuckling his belt and unbuttoning his pants. She made an effort to remove them and Ranger rolled them both to a prone position on the couch making her job much easier. They lay together skin to skin and Stephanie hesitated for a moment, concerned that budding panic or nascent fear from the awful events of before would ruin their spontaneous, impassioned joining. But found none existed. Instead she was overwhelmed by the wonder and satisfaction that they were back in each other's arms.

Ranger felt her pause and lifted her face to his. Tears were forming in her eyes. "We don't have to do this, Babe, if you're not ready. I love you, and I want to be inside you, but not if it's going to hurt you. Not if it's not right for you."

"It's not pain making me cry, Carlos. I'm just a bit emotional, that's all. I want this," she said with an unexpected strength to her voice. "I need you inside me. I need to feel you all around me. Marcus tried to take me away from you, and I wouldn't let him. Even if he'd been able to finish, I wouldn't have let him take this from you and me. He thought that violent sex gave him ownership and power over a woman, but he was wrong. The way you love me, gives _me_ strength and makes _me_ feel powerful."

"I don't want to hurt you, mi cariña."

"You can't." She produced a slight grin and pushed a lock of his hair from his face. "Please, Carlos, don't be afraid."

The conversation ended. Ranger tempered his original, feverish attack on her body and slowly, skillfully, forged a new level of passion until he had taken her to the edge of rational reason once again with his mouth and hands. When the heat between them became too intense to ignore, he lifted his hips and slid his straining erection into her expectant core.

At that very moment, they both paused at the unprecedented sensation their renewed intimacy brought. Their eyes met and held. The source of heartbeats and breaths became indistinguishable as their individual rhythms blended into one. It was unequivocally evident that their love had become as symbiotic and necessary to sustain each other, as the blood and air that nourished their bodies.

Stephanie resumed her undeniable commands for more, and Ranger braced himself against the couch to strengthen his thrusts and drive deeper toward her womb.

The friction between their bodies was so intense it could have ignited tinder, yet Stephanie's compelling insistence overwhelmed Ranger's more basic instinct to protect her from pain. He rhythmically pulsed in and out of her, continuing his fervent focus on evoking her climax.

With a reverent shout of his name and tightening of her muscles that caused his own release, Ranger succeeded in consummating her desire.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie and Ranger met with Jonathon Morgan early in the afternoon. He advised her about how to proceed with the questions she would most likely be asked by the Miami Police and the FBI, and told her that if a question came up that she was concerned about answering, she had the right to stop the process and make a request to consult with him first. When they finished their lengthy discussion, he finally addressed Ranger's inquiry about meeting with Colleen.

"I spoke with the agent in charge of the case before I came here today. He highly doubts that any charges will be pressed against Miss Jamison. You can visit her, but be careful. She has no representation that I'm aware of, but you don't want to be put into the position of her claiming that you're harassing her."

"If they're not pressing charges, does she need representation?" Stephanie asked.

"Anyone in Miss Jamison's position should have representation. She'll be under a great deal of pressure to provide evidence against Jake Murdock, and she still has to be cleared in the death investigation of Marcus Sandor. I don't recommend anyone go through that process unprotected. On top of that, she's very young and obviously, from what I've read about the case so far, very impressionable."

"Could you represent her?"

"Me?" Jonathon was surprised by the question, but he quickly reclaimed his professional manner. "This is a very complicated case, Miss Plum. I'm afraid it would be a conflict of interest to represent both you and her."

"Could you find someone to represent her?"

Again he was taken aback by her request. "Well, I suppose, but our firm is exclusive, and I doubt that Miss Jamison has access to the resources it would take to…."

"I'll pay for it." Stephanie cut him off.

Ranger reached under the table for her hand and grasped it firmly in support. He was surprised but wouldn't have expected anything less of her.

Morgan looked to Ranger for his approval, but received nothing. This was Stephanie's decision to make, and he wouldn't insult her by subordinating her position.

"Well," he hemmed. In all his years working for Carlos Manoso, Jonathon Morgan had never seen him take a back seat to a decision. "It's a little unusual, but I'm sure we could make those arrangements for you. Of course, Miss Jamison would have to agree to it."

"I'll take care of that. Can you give me one of your cards? I'll make sure Colleen calls your office to make an appointment."

At the conclusion of the meeting, the still stunned attorney left the conference room. Ranger had maintained his hold on Stephanie's hand and was rubbing his thumb affectionately across her knuckles.

"Why is Colleen so important to you, Babe?" His question held no hint of disappointment or concern.

Stephanie looked at him for a moment, considering her answer. "I don't really know. I just know that she needs someone on her side for once. I've been there before…and you were there for me." Her voice was resolute when she continued. "I need to do this?"

"Good enough." He kissed her hand. "Let's go visit Colleen."

Stephanie smiled at his unconditional support. "Before we leave, I have a few phone calls to make first."

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	27. Chapter 27

Janet Evanovich is the rightful owner of the Stephanie Plum stories and characters.

A Total Eclipse of the Heart

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 27

When Stephanie and Ranger reached the door to Colleen's room, Ranger gave her a reassuring kiss and posted himself against the wall.

Stephanie knocked lightly and entered. Colleen was asleep, and it struck Stephanie that she looked even younger than she had before. She stepped to the side of the bed and picked up a frail, delicate hand.

Colleen's eyes slowly opened, and a smile crept across her lips when she focused in on Stephanie's face. The adoring, trusting look gave Stephanie confirmation that the path she was about to undertake was the right one.

"How are you?" Stephanie said with a caring smile.

"Better now that I've seen a familiar face." Colleen's voice was weak from sleep, but she eagerly put forth the effort to sit up.

Stephanie gave her some assistance by adjusting a couple of pillows behind her back. "Colleen, I'm sorry about Grayson." She didn't care two figs about Grayson, but the man was important to Colleen, and she truly felt sorry about her personal loss. She was relieved her statement of sympathy didn't sound as forced as she thought it would.

Tears sprung from Colleen's red, swollen eyes that had already looked as if they hadn't been dry in two days. "I miss him so much, Stephanie. I know what he did to you was wrong, and I'm really sorry for everything you went through, but I loved him, and I can't believe he's gone. I'm so lonely without him."

Colleen's grief broke Stephanie's heart. She leaned over the bed and pulled her into a comforting, consoling hug. "I know you loved him, sweetie." She pulled back from the embrace and grabbed tissues from the bedside table. She handed a couple to Colleen and kept one for herself. "They told me you lost the baby. When we took our walk on the beach, you told me how you felt about having this baby. How are you dealing with it now?"

I don't know, okay I guess. I mean,…" she back tracked slightly, and pulled at the damp tissue in her hands. "I was sad at first." She looked up at Stephanie. "I want to be a mom someday, but this baby wasn't Grayson's and it would have been…" Colleen trailed off the unfinished sentence.

"It would have been beautiful just like you," Stephanie finished the sentence for her. "And one day, Colleen, you will have another beautiful baby, and you'll be a wonderful mother."

"I don't think I know how to be a good mother," she said sadly, wiping away a stray tear.

Stephanie chuckled. "Every woman thinks that, Colleen. My sister Val thought that, too, but she told me that the minute the nurse put her baby daughter into her arms, she knew everything would be all right. She said that there was nothing more important to her from that moment on than the safety and security of that precious bundle. I'm sure it will be the same for you. One day. When you're ready." As Stephanie spoke those words, she suddenly realized how strongly her own maternal instincts had bubbled to the surface when it came to this young, needy girl before her.

New, silent tears started flowing from Colleen's large brown eyes. They appeared so quickly that Stephanie wasn't sure that Colleen was even aware of them. She brushed some of the loose hair away from Colleen's face in soft gentle strokes. "Colleen, what's the matter?"

"Oh, Stephanie, I've lost everything!" she moaned. "Grayson is dead. The baby is gone. I don't know what to do. I don't have any place to go when I leave here. When I left home, I moved in with Grayson, and he gave me everything. I don't even have any money of my own. The nurse said they're going to release me tomorrow, and I have nowhere to go, and I can't go back to my parent's house. You know that I can never go back there again!"

Colleen was panic-stricken and almost hyperventilating at the thought of leaving the hospital. Stephanie grabbed her by her hands and called her name sharply. "Colleen, listen to me. I can help you." When she saw that she had Colleen's attention, she handed her a glass of water. "Here take a drink. Calm down and listen to me."

Colleen took a sip of the drink and wiped her eyes with the edge of the bed sheet. "I'm sorry I'm such a mess," she sniffed. "I haven't had anyone to talk to, and these thoughts have been bouncing around in my head with no one share them with and no one to tell me what to do."

"Colleen, I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I've been thinking a lot about your situation, and I came here today to give you some options."

As if right on cue, there was a light knock on the door and Stephanie walked purposefully over to answer it. There were voices of greeting that Colleen couldn't quite make out and when Stephanie returned, two women followed her in and stood by the side of the bed.

"Colleen, this is my friend Cindy Harper, and this," she said, touching the young woman on the shoulder, "is the sister of the man who came with you to the hospital the other day. Her name is Emily Barnes."

Both of the women said hello to Colleen. She returned the greeting, looking a little confused, but she had a hint of recognition on her face. "I remember. His name was Tony. He was very nice to me."

Stephanie nodded and continued her explanation. "Emily is the woman that Marcus was arrested for raping, and Cindy owns a dress shop here in Miami and is dating Tony."

"Oh," she looked apologetically at Emily. "I'm sorry about what Marcus did to you."

Emily stepped forward. "Thank you, Colleen, but it wasn't your fault. Tony told me that you are the one who shot Marcus. I'm sorry that you had to be put in that situation. I can't imagine that I would have had the strength to do something like that, but I'm glad you did. I slept much better last night, knowing that he's no longer out there."

Colleen got lost for a minute in her thoughts of the shooting, and she drifted her focus toward the window. "He...was a...monster. I'm glad he's dead too." She blinked and, in an instant, returned to the present. "Did Stephanie tell you about...what he did...to me?"

Emily took Colleen's hand in a sympathetic gesture. "Yes," she almost whispered. Choking emotion was catching her voice. "I know about what he did to you. I'm sorry for you too."

Emily and Colleen shared a private moment of personal understanding, and Stephanie could see her plan was going to work even better than she had hoped. She almost hated to interrupt the bonding, but cleared her throat. "Colleen, if you want, and if you think you'd be comfortable with it, I've made arrangements for you to have an apartment in the same building that Tony and Emily live in. I told Cindy about the wonderful clothes you designed and made for me at the beach house. She has a lot of connections in the business and is willing to help you pursue a career in that direction; if that's something you want to do. In the meantime, she's offered to hire you to help out in her store. After a few months you should be able to support yourself with the income from the full-time job. I will cover your rent and other living expenses until you get on your feet."

Colleen mouth dropped open in shock. "I…I…don't...Are you kidding me? I can't believe you would want to do this for me, Stephanie, especially after what you've been through. Why are you doing this?"

"Everybody needs a little help now and then. You were a good friend to me when I needed one at Grayson's house. I hope you'll let me help you, Colleen. I think you have a lot of talent, and I know you can do it. I really want to see you get a good start so you can make it on your own."

Colleen reached out and took Stephanie's hand. "Thank you so much, Stephanie. I won't let you down."

"It's not me you have to worry about. Do this for yourself." Stephanie stepped back from the bed as if to leave. "I've got to go, but Emily and Cindy are going to stay a while and visit, and they'll make sure you get to the apartment tomorrow. As soon as I get a new cell phone, I'll let Cindy know, and she can give you my number. Call me if you need anything."

"Even if it's just to talk, like we did on the beach?"

"Especially if it's just to talk, but I have a feeling that you and Emily will have a lot to talk about too." She gave Colleen's hand a final squeeze of assurance and turned toward the door. "Oh, I almost forgot." She stopped, dug into her pocket and came out with a business card. She handed it to Colleen. "I talked to my attorney earlier today, and he said that you really need to be represented in the case against Jake. He has an associate that's going to help you out. His number is on the card. Call him and set up an appointment as soon as you can." With that little bit of parting information, Stephanie left the room. Ranger took her hand and together they headed for the elevator.

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...

Julie met Stephanie in a shriek of excitement before she was even half way out of the car. Her smile was wider than the Grand Canyon. Her eyes were as big as saucers and filled with the pure joy that only a child can exhibit because they still possess an enviable resiliency to whatever life throws at them. Despite her 'grown up' attitude toward most things, Julie was still young and hadn't wandered far from the notion that there is a Santa Claus, a Tooth Fairy, and an Easter Bunny. Presents magically appeared under the tree, money magically appeared under a pillow, baskets of candy and eggs were magically hidden on Easter morning, and to Julie, Stephanie being alive again unquestionably fell into the same realm of reality as one of those enchanted, childhood mysteries.

Ranger had warned Stephanie about what to expect. When he had told Julie that there had been a mistake in identifying who was in the car, and that Stephanie was still alive, his daughter had run a gamut of emotions and reactions that had included speechless gasps, tears, shouts of jubilation, more tears, endless questions about his confidence in the information being accurate, more shouts, and finally a hug that lasted nearly five minutes while she cried on his shoulder and for the first time...called him daddy.

They drove a short distance from the house and found a quiet restaurant with a table at the back where they spent more than two hours catching up. Julie constantly found the need for reassuring touches, and she had a million questions that she endlessly rattled off. But both Ranger and Stephanie deftly dodged the most disturbing details of the events and managed to give her satisfying answers.

Eventually, they found the best way to divert Julie's incessant focus on the subject was to tell her the news of their engagement. This led to a whole new enthusiasm over wedding details and more questions about dates, and dresses, and colors, that to Julie's disappointment, Stephanie and Ranger had no answers to yet.

They returned Julie home thirty minutes late to an understanding mother, and they left feeling rather guilty about the state they had left her in for Rachel to deal with.

That night as Stephanie drifted off to sleep in Ranger's arms, she recapped the busy day in a flurry of images. The satisfying heart to heart with Lester, her even more satisfying reconnection with the man who never stopped looking for her, the long, arduous meeting with the attorney, and the emotional reunions with both Colleen at the hospital and Julie at dinner afterwards. She thought about Jack's words, and as much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She had been a victim of a terrible crime. But it didn't mean that she had to remain a victim. If she could fight the bad with some good, maybe it would make a difference. Maybe she could find some peace of mind and come to terms with the deaths of Colleen's baby and those two beautiful young girls.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Wednesday morning came all too soon. Stephanie wasn't looking forward to going to the police station. She'd been through this before with the Trenton PD and knew it had the potential to be a long, grueling day. When they were done giving their statements, she and Ranger, along with the rest of the remaining Trenton RangeMen still hanging around Miami, were planning to fly home. Stephanie was of two minds about her return to New Jersey. It was almost Christmas and she was anxious to see her friends and family again, but she wasn't looking forward to the publicity and endless rumors that would surely surface once she was there. Tank had already warned them that the local paper had been having a field day with the news that she was still alive. They tried to interview anyone they thought would have any information concerning her whereabouts. Lula told him that a reporter had even been camped outside the bonds office for two days, stopping anyone who entered, pummeling them with questions. Stephanie cringed at the thought that she would be forced to hold up at Haywood to avoid the mayhem, literally exchanging one confinement for another.

They were still sitting at the dining room table finishing up breakfast, when there was a knock on the apartment door. Ranger got up to answer it. Stephanie heard Lester's voice before she saw him and smiled in anticipation. She knew Megan was with him. She and Lester had stayed at a local hotel. Before she could stand, all three had returned to the room, and Stephanie immediately felt Megan's uncomfortable hesitation.

"Megan, I'm glad you're here."

When Stephanie uttered those five words, Megan rushed over to her and pulled her into a hug. "Stephanie, I'm so sorry for what I did to you."

"Don't say that, Megan. I don't blame you for anything. Didn't Lester tell you that?"

Megan smiled. "Yes, but I can't believe it. I'm not so sure I would be as forgiving as you if the roles had been reversed."

"There's nothing to forgive. You did what you had to do to protect your family. I understand that."

Megan wiped a few tears from her eyes. "I'm not catholic, but if I could, I'd nominate you for some kind of saint title. Don't they do things like that?"

"They do," Stephanie chuckled. "But I don't think my lifestyle could hold up under that kind of scrutiny. I'm no saint."

"No, you're an angel, Beautiful," Lester chimed in. "You two heading over to the cop shop?" he asked of Stephanie and Ranger.

Stephanie jumped back to look at the clock on the kitchen wall. "Oh, god yes! We have to go. What about you two?"

"We'll catch up with you and Ranger there. We're going to hang around here with Bobby for a while. Megan's appointment isn't until eleven thirty."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

The elevator doors opened to the third floor of the Miami-Dade Police headquarters on Second Street. Stephanie and Ranger took three steps and nearly ran into the tall, dark, Italian cop from Jersey.

"Joe?" Stephanie eyes went wide in shock.

"Cupcake!" Joe was overwhelmed by her sudden appearance and enthusiastically grabbed her into a rib-breaking hug.

"What are you doing here in Miami?" She managed to choke out with the last of her air.

"I'm representing the Trenton PD on the Jake Murdock case. I'm the lead detective on the Anna Burke murder investigation and we need to get in line for the opportunity to press charges." The shock having worn off, he warmly smiled. "God, it's good to see you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Stephanie was suddenly aware that Joe still had his arms around her waist and she awkwardly stepped out of his embrace and turned to Ranger. "Do I have a few minutes to talk to Joe?"

Ranger put his arm around her waist and slowly pulled her close, landing a deep kiss on her lips.

Stephanie rolled her eyes at the obvious attempt to mark his territory. "I thought you didn't do jealous. What the hell was that?" she privately admonished him.

"Just setting a few boundaries, Babe." He gave her a wicked smile. "I'll wait over there. Take your time. Cops usually don't run on time down here."

Stephanie watched Ranger walk away. He found a wall to hold up, at a distance that gave them the illusion of privacy. She turned back to face Joe. "I'm sorry I didn't call you before now. I meant to, it's just that..." She didn't know how to finish the sentence, and they were both starting to feel uncomfortable, so she changed the subject. "I can't believe Trenton PD would foot the bill to send you to Miami."

"They didn't." Joe looked surprised. "He didn't tell you?" He nodded his head toward Ranger.

"Tell me what?"

"I flew down here courtesy of RangeMan."

"On the jet?"

"Yeah, I came down yesterday with that gorgeous nurse friend of yours...Megan." Joe said the name in a slow sexy voice, and he had ardent appreciation written all over his face. Stephanie was pretty sure it wasn't because of Ranger's hospitality.

"Forget it, Joe! She's taken!"

"Yeah, that's what she said, too." He sighed and looked at Stephanie with his whiskey colored eyes wrinkled in lament. "The good ones always are."

There was a tone of regret in Joe's voice that struck a melancholy note in Stephanie's heart. "I'm going to marry him, Joe."

"Does he love you enough?"

"He loves me more than anybody has ever loved me before."

The words stabbed like a knife, but Joe knew deep down that she was right. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. "Be happy, Cupcake."

"Thanks, Joe."

The elevator doors opened and Joe was gone.

Three hours later, Stephanie was done giving her statements and was told she could leave. Ranger had already given his own statement and was stationed outside the small conference room where Stephanie had just spent the last hour and thirty minutes with the FBI. There was such a sense of relief on Stephanie's part, that when she stepped out of the room, she practically fell into his arms. He took her hand and pulled her into a small empty waiting room and proceeded to cover her with kisses.

"Would you two like some privacy?"

Stephanie jumped at the sound, and she and Ranger both turned toward the location of the familiar voice.

"Damn it, Lester, you scared the shit out of me!" Stephanie said in exasperation. "What are you doing in here?"

Lester still had a great big grin on his face. "Now, Beautiful, I'd be hard pressed to describe the expression you had on your face as _scared_! You looked a little more _flushed_ or maybe even _breathless_."

"Santos!" Ranger warned.

"All right, all right, just having some fun. I'm waiting on Megan. She's not finished yet. You guys done here?"

Stephanie nodded.

"The plane's not scheduled to take off for another couple of hours, what are you two going to do to kill time?" Lester asked innocently.

Ranger broke out into a two hundred watt grin. "What car did you drive here?"

"One of the new Escalades. Why?"

Ranger pulled a set of keys from his pocket and tossed them to Lester. "Switch."

Lester looked confused, but reached into his pocket and tossed Ranger his set of keys.

"Why don't you take Megan on a little tour of Miami in the Lamborghini," Ranger said. "We'll meet you at the airport."

Lester was totally too preoccupied with the idea of driving the prized sports car with Megan at his side, to question his friend's motive. Realization finally dawned on him as Ranger walked away with an arm around Stephanie's waist.

"Oh, that is just not right!" he yelled toward their retreating backs. "What is it with you two and cars? Get a room why don't you? That car is checked out under my name, and it's going to require a complete detail when they get it back to headquarters. If Nick bills me for that, you owe me dinner!" He continued his friendly rant as Steph and Ranger drifted down the hall.

They stepped onto the elevator, and Stephanie turned to ask, "What was he yelling about?"

Ranger dangled the keys in front of her. "Bigger back seat than the Mercedes, Babe."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

The RangeMan plane sat idly waiting in the hanger at the Miami International Airport. Interestingly enough, Ranger and Stephanie were the last ones to arrive. As they ascended the steps to board the plane, a standard issue RangeMan vehicle pulled into the hanger, and a Merry Man that Stephanie didn't recognize exited and hurried toward them.

"Sir," the young man addressed Ranger. "This was delivered by courier to headquarters less than an hour ago." He held up a medium sized brown envelope. "Nick wanted you to have it right away."

Ranger took the envelope and dismissed his employee with a nod.

Stephanie noted that the envelope carried no postage or delivery stamp. She looked at Ranger. "Must be important for them to drive it all the way out here. Who's it from?"

Ranger examined the envelope. "No return address. Just my name on the front." He slid his finger under the flap and opened it. At first the envelope appeared empty, but Ranger bowed the sides to open it fully and tipped it over his palm.

A small folded note tumbled out, followed by a black and yellow cigar band with raised gold letters spelling out the word Cohiba. Ranger fingered the band and slipped it back into the envelope. He opened the note and read it.

_Carlos,_

_I take care of him for you. No evidence._

_You take care of our girl._

Ranger folded the note back into the envelope, and tucked it into his pocket, just as his cell phone rang.

"Speak." There was a long delay and then Ranger asked, "Any suspects?" There was another short delay and then, "Keep me informed." He closed the phone.

"Who was that?" Stephanie asked.

"Jonathon Morgan." He clipped the phone back onto his belt. "Jake Murdock was gunned down an hour ago while he was waiting to be transferred into FBI custody."

"Is he dead?" Stephanie asked with some hesitation.

Ranger nodded. He studied her face to check her reaction.

"Do they know who did it?"

Ranger looked at Stephanie for a few moments longer as if in debate. He finally leaned in and kissed her, then gently rubbed his thumb across her lips.

"No evidence," he answered. Ranger turned her toward the door, placed a hand at her lower back, and guided her into the plane to take her home.

End.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


End file.
